title: Low susceptibility of Achatina fulica from Brazil to infection with AngioIylus costaricensis and A. cantonensis.
abstract: Introduction of Achatina fulica in Brazil has led to serious concerns about its role as vector for metaIylid worms: AngioIylus costaricensis and A. cantonensis. Experimental infection with both parasites was performed to evaluate the potential risk for their transmission by the giant African snail. Groups of 5 animals, both wild and bred at captivity were exposed at different inocula: 1, 5, and 10 x 10(3) L1 of A. costaricensis and A. cantonensis. In all groups, few snails got infected and parasitic burden was low. Two different ways of infection were tested: ingestion produced higher numbers of L3 than the inoculation through an artificial hole in the shell. We also report the parasitological examination of 6 batches of wild A. fulica from Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil: only 1 out of 244 animals were infected with metaIylid larvae. Taken together these data indicate that the giant African snail occurring in Southern Brazil is not a permissive host for both AngioIylus species and does not represent a significant risk for transmission of these parasites.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitologia Molecular, Instituto de Pesquisas Biomédicas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande, Porto Alegre, RS, 90690-900, Brasil.
authors.forename: Erli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Neuhauss
authors.forename: Monaliza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fitarelli
authors.forename: Juliano
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Romanzini
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Graeff-Teixeira
mesh_terms: D000801:Angiostrongylus / Q000502:physiology*; D017185:Angiostrongylus cantonensis / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D051381:Rats; D012908:Snails / Q000469:parasitology*