Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection of Angiostrongylus cantonensis DNA in Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with Eosinophilic Meningitis

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the most common infectious cause of eosinophilic meningitis. Timely diagnosis of these infections is difficult, partly because reliable laboratory diagnostic methods are unavailable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of A. cantonensis DNA in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens. A total of 49 CSF specimens from 33 patients with eosinophilic meningitis were included: A. cantonensis DNA was detected in 32 CSF specimens, from 22 patients. Four patients had intermittently positive and negative real-time PCR results on subsequent samples, indicating that the level of A. cantonensis DNA present in CSF may fluctuate during the course of the illness. Immunodiagnosis and/or supplemental PCR testing supported the real-time PCR findings for 30 patients. On the basis of these observations, this real-time PCR assay can be useful to detect A. cantonensis in the CSF from patients with eosinophilic meningitis.