Journal
FOODS
Volume 11, Issue 7, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/foods11070953
Keywords
Angiostrongylus cantonensis; angiostrongyliasis; rat lungworm; food safety; ozone; ultrasound
Categories
Funding
- Hawai'i State Legislature
- Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, Hilo, HI
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) [P20GM103466]
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) [P20GM103466]
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This study found that both ozone gas (O3) and ultrasound can effectively kill the larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lungworm, and the combined use of these methods is more effective. These methods show promise in reducing the risk of rat lungworm infection through accidental consumption.
The parasitic nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm) is the leading cause of human eosinophilic meningitis worldwide. Most human infections occur through the accidental consumption of A. cantonensis hidden within produce as infectious third-stage larvae (L3), yet little research has been published addressing possible methods to mitigate this means of transmission. Here, we describe our tests of ozone gas-an oxidizing agent-and ultrasound, both used for disinfection of food and municipal water supplies and in industrial cleaning. We found that exposure to ozone, produced using two different commercially available ozone generators over varying durations of time and concentrations, was capable of achieving 100% larval mortality. In addition, we evaluated the impact of different sound frequencies on A. cantonensis L3 survival using two different commercially available ultrasonic cleaners, and found that 60 s of 40 kHz produced 46% mortality within 2 h. The combined use of ultrasound and ozone gas simultaneously resulted in a minimum of 89% normalized mean percent mortality within 2 h of treatment. Our study suggests that both ozone and ultrasound show high larvicidal efficacy, both independently and together, and thus show promise as methods for reducing the risk of rat lungworm infection via accidental consumption.
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