Publications by authors named "Lisa N Rascoe"

Baylisascaris procyonis roundworms can cause potentially fatal neural larva migrans in many species, including humans. However, the clinical spectrum of baylisascariasis is not completely understood. We tested 347 asymptomatic adult wildlife rehabilitators for B.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The primary causative agent of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis (EoM) in endemic regions is the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The occurrence of EoM was previously restricted to countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands; however, more recently, it has been reported from other regions, including Brazil. The commonly used diagnosis is detection of specific antibody reactivity to the 31 kDa antigen, which is derived from female worm somatic extracts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The clinical spectrum of human disease caused by the roundworms Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati ranges from visceral and ocular larva migrans to covert toxocariasis. The parasite is not typically recovered in affected tissues, so detection of parasite-specific antibodies is usually necessary for establishing a diagnosis. The most reliable immunodiagnostic methods use the Toxocara excretory-secretory antigens (TES-Ag) in ELISA formats to detect Toxocara-specific antibodies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Strongyloides stercoralis is a widely distributed parasite that infects 30 to 100 million people worldwide. In the United States strongyloidiasis is recognized as an important infection in immigrants and refugees. Public health and commercial reference laboratories need a simple and reliable method for diagnosis of strongyloidiasis to identify and treat cases and to prevent transmission.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A Western blot assay using a recombinant protein, recombinant Baylisascaris procyonis RAG1 protein (rBpRAG1), was developed for the diagnosis of human baylisascariasis concurrently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Reference Centre for Parasitology (NRCP) in Montreal, Canada. Assay performance was assessed by testing 275 specimens at the CDC and 405 specimens at the NRCP. Twenty specimens from 16 cases of baylisascariasis were evaluated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF