Abstract 2109 The Prevalence of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Molluscs found on the University of Hawai'i - West O'ahu campus, a Preliminary Study

Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is a parasitic nematode that thrives in subtropical and tropical environments, like Hawai'i, where conditions lead to its pervasiveness in its definitive hosts: rodents, and in its intermediate hosts: molluscs. The incidental infection of human hosts can lead to Rat Lungworm (RLW) disease. Symptoms of infection include vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, headaches, and other neurological symptoms that can occur over a one-to-four-week period. If not caught soon enough, these parasites can travel through a person's central nervous system and to the brain eventually leading to eosinophilic meningitis. Since the early 2000's to now, there has been an increase in diagnosed cases of RLW disease in humans, primarily in Hawai'i. The main goal of this study was to detect if A. cantonensis in molluscs were prevalent on the grounds of the University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu (UHWO) campus. In the Summer of 2023, two species of molluscs, Lissachatina fulica (n=6) and Veronicella cubensis (n=9), were collected on the UHWO campus. Genomic DNA was extracted from tissue at the foot of both molluscs. Using conventional PCR and gel electrophoresis, we were able to examine these molluscs for A. cantonensis. Of the six snails tested, none showed evidence of having A. cantonensis DNA and of the nine slugs tested, only one showed there was a possibility of having A. cantonensis DNA. Our findings indicate that the UHWO campus may have molluscs that could potentially be infected with A. cantonensis. Further studies with more sampling, species types, and increased sample sizes will be measured. As well as the refining of our extraction methods and sequencing of any of our PCR samples that show unexpected bands during our gel electrophoresis will have to be done. This work was supported by INBRE Hawai'i.