Invading freshwater gastropods: Some conflicting aspects for public health

Abstract:

Invading molluscs have received special attention for many years because they often have a catastrophic ecological impact on local biodiversity. Considering their significance to public health, invading molluscs may have either negative or positive influence. The negative influence can be illustrated by two major parasitic diseases transmitted by freshwater gastropods - blood and liver flukes - for which recent studies carried out in the New World, have brought new and sometimes conflicting insights on the consequences of snail introductions. It is well established that the parasites responsible for these diseases were introduced into the neotropical area in the last centuries. It was formerly thought that the parasites had there encountered suitable snail intermediate hosts. However, recent genetic studies have revealed a non local origin of some of these hosts. Conversely, freshwater snail invasions may be beneficial to public health. For example, some thiarid and ampullariid species are good competitors of the pulmonate hosts of blood and liver flukes, and several biological control programs have demonstrated their usefulness in the Caribbean area. However, the relationships between invading molluscs and public health are more complex, because some of these "beneficial" species are also suspected to play the role of intermediate hosts for several animal or human parasites, such as the paragonimiasis.

Año de publicación:

1999

Keywords:

• (Paragonimus westermanii)
• Centrocestiasis (Centrocestus formosanus)
• Or meningitis (Angiostrongylus cantonensis)

Fuente:

scopus