First record of a nematode Metastrongyloidea ( Aelurostrongylus abstrusus larvae) in Achatina ( Lissachatina) fulica (Mollusca, Achatinidae) in Brazil

Abstract

Achatina ( Lissachatina) fulica was introduced in Brazil in the 1980s for commercial purposes (“escargot” farming) and nowadays, mainly by human activity, it is widespread in at least 23 out of 26 Brazilian states and Brasília, including the Amazonian region and natural reserves, where besides a general nuisance for people it is a pest and also a public health concern, since it is one of the natural intermediate host of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, ethiological agent of the meningoencephalitis in Asia. As Brazil is experiencing the explosive phase of the invasion, the Laboratório de Malacologia do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fiocruz has been receiving samples of these molluscs for identification and search for Angiostrongylus cantonensis and Angiostrongylus costaricensis larvae. While examining samples of A. fulica different nematode larvae were obtained, including Aelurostrongylus, whose different species are parasites of felids, dogs, primates, and badger. Morphological and morphometric analyses presented herein indicated the species Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, as well as the occurrence of other nematode larvae ( Strongyluris-like) found in the interior of the pallial cavity of A. fulica. This is the first report in Brazil of the development of A. abstrusus infective larvae in A. fulica evidencing the veterinary importance of this mollusc in the transmission of A. abstrusus to domestic cats. Since the spread of A. fulica is pointed out in the literature as one of the main causative spread of the meningoencephalitis caused by A. cantonensis the authors emphasize the need of sanitary vigilance of snails and rats from vulnerable areas for A. cantonensis introduction as the port side areas.