Abstract

SANTANA TELES, Horácio Manuel; FARIA VAZ, Jorge; FONTES, Luiz Roberto  and  DOMINGOS, Maria de Fátima. Occurrence of Achatina fulica Bowdich, 1822 (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in Brazil: intermediate snail host of angiostrongyliasis. Rev. Saúde Pública [online]. 1997, vol.31, n.3, pp. 310-312. ISSN 0034-8910.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89101997000300014.

Achatina fulica, the intermediate snail host of angiostrongyliasis and also an agricultural pest, is being bred in Brazil for human consumption as "escargot". The snail has escaped from its artificial breeding sites and its dispersal in Itariri county, State of S. Paulo, is reported here for the first time. A. fulica is a transmitter of the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis, nematode which causes meningoencephalic angiostrongyliasis; the risks of human contamination are commented on.

Keywords : Mollusca [parasitology]; Strongylida infections [prevention and control].