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Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a nematode (roundworm) parasite that causes angiostrongyliasis, an infection that is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin. [3] The nematode commonly resides in the pulmonary arteries of rats, giving it the common name rat lungworm. [4]
If the cause is unknown, it is specified and called "simple pulmonary eosinophilia". Cardiac damage caused by the damaging effects of eosinophil granule proteins (e.g. major basic protein ) is known as Loeffler endocarditis and can be caused by idiopathic eosinophilia or eosinophilia in response to parasitic infection.
In humans, A. cantonensis is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis or meningoencephalitis. [2] Frequently the infection will resolve without treatment or serious consequences, but in cases with a heavy load of parasites the infection can be so severe it can cause permanent damage to the central nervous system (CNS) or death.
When eosinophilic pneumonia is related to an illness such as cancer or parasitic infection, treatment of the underlying cause is effective in resolving the lung disease. When due to acute or chronic eosinophilic pneumonia, however, treatment with corticosteroids results in a rapid, dramatic resolution of symptoms over the course of one or two days.
But, perhaps the most common cause for eosinophilia is an allergic condition such as asthma. In 1989, contaminated L-tryptophan supplements caused a deadly form of eosinophilia known as eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome, which was reminiscent of the toxic oil syndrome in Spain in 1981.
Ascariasis is a disease caused by the parasitic roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides. [1] Infections have no symptoms in more than 85% of cases, especially if the number of worms is small. [ 1 ] Symptoms increase with the number of worms present and may include shortness of breath and fever at the beginning of the disease. [ 1 ]
Of solid tumor neoplasms, ovarian cancer is most likely to provoke eosinophilia, though any other cancer can cause the condition. [3] Solid epithelial cell tumors have been shown to cause both tissue and blood eosinophilia, with some reports indicating that this may be mediated by interleukin production by tumor cells, especially IL-5 or IL-3. [2]
Tropical pulmonary eosinophilia is a rare syndrome characterised by pulmonary interstitial infiltrates and marked peripheral eosinophilia. [2] This condition is more widely recognised and promptly diagnosed in filariasis-endemic regions, such as the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Asia and South America.