Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2019–2022

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R at lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis(Strongylida: Metastrongyloidea), causes eosinophilic meningoencephalitis (neural angiostrongyliasis) in humans and other accidental mammal hosts.This vectorborne nematode has an indirect life cycle in which several rodent species, including Rattus spp., serve as definitive hosts (1).Rodents become infected by ingesting terrestrial gastropods acting as intermediate hosts infected with thirdstage larvae (L3).In the rodent host, L3 migrate through vasculature to the central nervous system and after 2 molts become adult nematodes that migrate to the pulmonary artery (1).After mating, females lay eggs that hatch first-stage larvae (L1) in lung airspaces.L1 ascend the trachea, pass into the digestive system after being swallowed by the host rat, and exit the body through feces (1).Subsequently, gastropods ingest nematode L1 after which the larvae develop to the infective L3 stage.Paratenic hosts, such as fish, frogs, and crustaceans, can also harbor A. cantonensis L3, which can be transferred to rodents and accidental hosts (2).A. cantonensis, originally described in Asia, where most human infections are reported, is now endemic in different regions of the world (2).In the United States, A. cantonensis was initially reported in Hawaii (3), and later in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida, likely introduced by infected rats and gastropods through trade routes, such as on merchant ships (3-7).We confirm autochthonous A. cantonensis infection in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and briefly discuss the relevance of these findings to human and animal health. The StudyWe collected tissue samples (brain, heart, liver, kidney, lung, spleen, skeletal muscle, skin, gastrointestinal tract, adrenal gland, and gonads) from 33 wild brown rats found dead during 2019-2022 on the grounds of a zoological facility located in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia (33°44′1.536″N;84°22′19.416″W).We stored samples in 10% neutral buffered formalin and processed them for routine histopathologic evaluation as part of opportunistic monitoring of wildlife found dead on zoo grounds.Of the rats we histologically evaluated, 7/33 (21.2%) had nematodes in heart, pulmonary artery, and brain tissues (Table; Figure).Where intravascular nematodes were observed, we extracted genomic DNA from paraffinembedded tissue sections using QIAamp DNA Angiostrongylus cantonensisInfection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA,

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