Gnathostomes in Asian swamp eels: An interview with USGS Parasitologist, Dr. Rebecca Cole
There was a interesting study, “Gnathostoma spinigerum in Live Asian Swamp Eels (Monopterus spp.) from Food Markets and Wild Populations, United States”, published in the April 2014 issue of the publication, Emerging Infectious Diseases, which looked at Asian swamp eels collected between 2010 and 2012 from ethnic food markets and in Florida waters where the eel species is invasive for the parasite, Gnathostoma.
The lead author of the study, Rebecca A. Cole, PhD, Parasitologist with the US Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center came on the Outbreak News This Week Radio Show Saturday to talk about the paper with host Robert Herriman (Listen below).
Dr. Cole explained the interest in the study, “Our interest was looking at is there parasites that would be of health concern, but also are there parasites at risk of being spread when these fish are released into the wild.”
“Are these eels carrying these infections into the US?”, she adds.
Gnathostomiasis is not very common in the US, Cole acknowledges. “Most often they are attributed to individuals who have traveled outside the US within the last 10 years to Asia or Southeast Asia where it is endemic.”
Dr. Cole discussed the parasite, Gnathostoma spp. to include the life cycle and human pathology.
To read the study, click here
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