Survey of the African giant land snail (Archachatina marginata), intermediate host of intestinal parasites in Akure Metropolis, Ondo State

Titus Adeniyi Olusi,Olugbenga Samuel Babatunde,Muideen Adeniji

doi:10.1186/s42269-021-00647-2

Titus Adeniyi Olusi, Olugbenga Samuel Babatunde + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-021-00647-2

Copy DOI

Abstract

BackgroundAfrican giant land snails (Archachatina marginata) are hermaphroditic pulmonate nocturnal gastropods of the Achatinidae family. The snail is one of West Africa's largest known terrestrial snails. The majority of land snails live in Nigeria's derived guinea savannah's forest litters, which range from deep tropical high forest to bordering riparian forests. Africa's giant land snails, which are noted for their ravenous feeding habits and extensive food range, are a major reservoir and intermediate host for parasites that can infect humans.ResultsSeventy snail samples were collected from the study site in total. The parasites found is a nematode rat lung worm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), which have a fragile, narrow, and simple mouth with no lip or buccal cavity and belong to the order Strongylida. The parasite was found to be most prevalent in small snails (52.94%), followed by medium sized snails with a frequency of 29.41%, and the giant-sized snails with the lowest prevalence of infection. The mantle parasite has the largest prevalence (48.6%), while parasites retrieved from the stomach have the highest mean intensity (2.50 ± 0.25).ConclusionThe African giant land snail can serve as a vector for zoonotic diseases, transmitting parasites to humans through raw or undercooked snails, infested vegetation, and contact with contaminated water. As a result, effective control measures for human infection should be established.

Highlights

African giant land snails (Archachatina marginata) are hermaphroditic pulmonate nocturnal gastropods of the Achatinidae family
The result shows that the African giant land snails collected from the dumping site are more infected than the African giant land snails collected from the bush with a prevalence of 23 of 34 infected representing 67.6% and 11 of 34 infected representing 32.4% respectively
The prevalence of A. cantonensis among A. marginata based on the size In Table 2, the results shows that the small sized presented the highest prevalence of infection with a prevalence of 52.94% followed by the medium sized snails with a prevalence of 29.41% while the big sized snail presented the least prevalence of infection

Summary

Introduction

African giant land snails (Archachatina marginata) are hermaphroditic pulmonate nocturnal gastropods of the Achatinidae family. The majority of land snails live in Nigeria’s derived guinea savannah’s forest litters, which range from deep tropical high forest to bordering riparian forests. African giant land snails are hermaphroditic pulmonate nocturnal gastropods of the Achatinidae family. They are native to Africa and can be found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, from the Gambia to the Lake Chad region in the east. The African giant land snail (Archachatina marginata) is one of West Africa’s largest land snails. The majority of land snails live in Nigeria’s derived guinea savannah’s forest litters, which range from deep tropical

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion