Natural infection of land-snails by protostrongylids on a pasture grazed by sheep in the Rabat area of Morocco.
The output by sheep of first-stage protostrongylid larvae, and the population density and level of infection of terrestrial molluscs were assessed monthly during a 1-year study. Limax maximus was the most infected mollusc. Juveniles were less infected than adults, for Cernuella virgata and Theba pisana; the reverse was observed for Otala lactea. Banded individuals had a lower intensity of infection than the non-banded ones for C. virgata and T. pisana. Sixty-one percent of protostrongylid larvae in molluscs on the pastures studied were found in C. virgata, and 25% in O. lactea. The infectivity of the pasture for sheep was related to rainfall.
Cabaret
J
J
I.N.R.A. Station de Pathologie Aviaire et de Parasitologie, Unité d'Ecologie Parasitaire, Monnaie, France.
D000818:Animals; D002980:Climate; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D009018:Morocco; D009348:Nematoda / Q000254:growth & development*; D011891:Rain; D012756:Sheep / Q000469:parasitology*; D012908:Snails / Q000032:analysis / Q000469:parasitology*