The main diseases caused by snails are equistosomiasis, fasciolosis and eosinophilic meningitis, which can infect people through contact with the secretions of snails or consumption of these raw or undercooked mollusks.
Snails are small molluscs that are easily found in plantations, gardens and even in cities because they have no predators, reproduce quickly and feed on plants, they can even eat the painting of houses.
- In some countries.
- Snail diseases are very common.
- However.
- Among others.
- These animals do not contain the parasites needed to transmit diseases.
- For this reason it is not necessary to alert if it finds a snail in the garden.
- Yet it is recommended to eliminate it if it finds that it increases in inclination.
For the snail to transmit diseases it must be infected with parasites, which may not always occur. The main diseases that the snail can cause are:
Cystosomiasis, formerly known as bilharziosis or bilharziosis, is a disease caused by the parasite Schistosoma mansoni, which needs the snail to develop part of its life cycle, and when it reaches its infectious phase, it is released into the water and infects it. penetrating the skin, causing fatigue and arousal in the entry area and subsequently weakness and muscle aches. A cold, cough, lack of appetite and gastrointestinal disorders may also occur.
This disease is most common in tropical climate environments where, in basic sanitation, there are a large number of snails of the genus Biomphalaria and Oncomelania.
How to treat: You should ask your doctor to tell you about using antiparasitic medications to remove the parasite, in addition to this, you may also recommend using corticosteroid ointments to relieve skin diseases, antipyretics to lower fever, rest and increase water consumption.
Fasciolosa is an infectious disease caused by the fasciol liver parasite, which needs the snail to complete its life cycle, especially freshwater snails of the species Lymnaea columela and Lymnaea viatrix. The birds of these parasites were released in the needs of the animals and the miracidio, which corresponds to the prelarval stage of this parasite, was released from the egg and managed to reach the snails, infecting them; the infectious form, which is released into the environment, is affected in snails. may come into contact with the animal or the environment in which it lives and be infected.
Symptoms that may occur depending on the stage and intensity of infection can occur in the acute phase, abdominal pain and inflammation of the liver. In cases where the infection is more advanced, the infection becomes chronic, can cause inflammation of the liver, fluid buildup. -up in the abdomen and anemia, and can lead to complications such as cirrhosis or bile duct obstruction.
How to treat: Your doctor tells you to take antiparasitic medications such as bitionol for 10 interleaved days to remove the microorganism. For liver complications, your doctor may recommend other forms of surgery, including surgery to clear your bile ducts.
Eosinophil meningitis, also known as cerebral angiostrongilosis, is caused by the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which can infect aloe vera and snails and, in turn, affect people who ingest these animals in contact with each other with the child released by them. The parasite does not adapt well to the human body, it can be transmitted to the nervous system, causing severe headaches, neck stiffness, mental confusion, nausea and vomiting.
One of the main snails responsible for eosinophil meningitis is the African giant snail, whose scientific name is Achatina fulica.
How to treat: If you are concerned about this disease, the hospital emergency should be managed, as treatment should be done in the hospital and the person should be hospitalized for the implementation of medications that also help relieve symptoms and corticosteroids to reduce brain inflammation. .
In addition to eosinophil meningitis, abdominal angiostrongilous is transmitted by ingestion of snails and aloe vera, including the African giant snail, infected with the parasite Angiostrongylus costaricensis, which enters people’s body affects the intestinal wall, causing gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominals. pain, vomiting and fatigue, for example.
How to treat: There is currently no effective drug to treat the infection, in most cases the doctor indicates a treatment to relieve symptoms The use of anthelmintics to treat this disease is not fully defined, because the studies are not finished.
Infection can occur when eating raw or under-cooked snails, eating food, or coming into direct contact with their secrets. In addition, in the case of schistosomiasis, it is not necessary to have direct contact with the snail or its secretions, only to be in an environment with contaminated water, because the snail releases the infectious form of the parasite into the water.
To avoid the discomfort caused by snails, it is recommended to wash much of all food that may come into contact with these animals or their secretions, in case of contact with snails or secretions it is recommended to wash the area with soap. and water.
Similarly, you should wash many fruits and vegetables with water and leave them for 10 minutes, completely covered, in a mixture of 1 liter of water with a bowl of vinegar.
It is important to avoid snail environments and clean gardens and gardens that may be infested. When cleaning, it is recommended to avoid contact of the snail’s hands with the hands. It is also advisable to recover humans that are normally partially buried. Recommended should be placed in a container and immersed in a 24-hour sodium hypochlorite solution; however, the solution can be discarded and the shells can be placed in a closed plastic bag and discarded at the common base.
When eating snails, it is important to clean them properly to avoid the transmission of any disease, for which it is necessary:
Then, it must be very well cooked to finish removing any microorganisms that may have it. The most consumed species are Helix Otala Snail, Helix Theba, Helix Aspersa, Helix Eobania, Helix pomatia (Roman snail), otala puctata and Helix lucorum. Not all snails are edible, if you are not sure where they come from, type of handling if you need to avoid their consumption.