The study investigates elementary students’ perception of the species Achatina fulica (African snail) and the risks this mollusc may pose to the population of Barra do Piraí – in the state of Rio de ...Janeiro. The research involved questionnaires, focus groups and field observations, besides A. fulica specimens parasitological analysis. The results indicated the presence of snails infected with nematodes of medical and veterinary interest in the locality. The students have a negative perception of the snail, and there is great difference between their perceptions and scientific knowledge. Based on the contributions of the perceptions study and of Meaningful Learning Theory, guidelines are suggested so that strategies for teaching the content regarding the African snail at school environment can be developed.
Os altos índices populacionais do caramujo africano (Achatina fulica) no Brasil em áreas urbanas vêm causando transtornos à população e danos ao ambiente. Objetivando colaborar no planejamento de ...estratégias educativas efetivas, este estudo analisa o conteúdo de reportagens jornalísticas e de materiais educativos sobre o molusco, por serem fontes de informação para a população, comparando-os com os discursos do meio acadêmico. Foram identificadas semelhanças entre os discursos da mídia e do meio acadêmico sobre o tema. Todavia, na mídia há desencontros de informações referentes às práticas de controle do caramujo, como a indicação de diferentes maneiras de matar os animais e uma maior ênfase nos danos à saúde humana. A análise dos materiais educativos revelou discursos errôneos e uma linguagem simplificada e/ou excessivamente técnica, que podem dificultar as ações educativas.
O caramujo africano invasor Achatina fulica foi introduzido no Brasil a partir de Estados do Sul e Sudeste em pelo menos três ocasiões. Atualmente sua distribuição já abrange 24 dos 26 estados e o ...Distrito Federal. Populações densas dessa espécie vêm causando incômodos à populações humanas, danos à jardins e pequenas plantações, além de atuarem como transmissoras de duas zoonoses (angiostrongilíase abdominal e meningoencefalite eosinofílica) e outras parasitoses de interesse veterinário. No presente estudo, apresentamos novas ocorrências de A. fulica no Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) assim como dados sobre as larvas de nematódeos de interesse médico e veterinário encontradas em exemplares dessa espécie coletados neste estado. A. fulica está presente em 26 municípios adicionais em relação aos dados obtidos em 2006, ano do último levantamento, representando um aumento de 50% no número de municípios infestados. Apenas nove dos 92 municípios do estado ainda não registram a presença dessa espécie. Larvas dos nematódeos Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, Rhabditis sp. e Strongyluris-like, todas com importância veterinária, foram encontradas em exemplares de A. fulica de onze municípios. A rápida dispersão de A. fulica evidencia a necessidade de planos de manejo contínuos e eficientes em todo o país visando o controle efetivo dessa invasão. A erradicação de A. fulica é pouco provável devido ao nível atual de infestação.
The metastrongyloid nematode genus Angiostrongylus includes 18 species, two of which are relevant from a medical standpoint, Angiostrongylus costaricensis and Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The first ...was described from Costa Rica in 1971 and causes abdominal angiostrongyliasis in the Americas, including in Brazil. Angiostrongylus cantonensis, first described in 1935 from Canton, China, is the causative agent of eosinophilic meningitis. The natural definitive hosts are rodents, and molluscs are the intermediate hosts. Paratenic or carrier hosts include crabs, freshwater shrimp, amphibians, flatworms, and fish. Humans become infected accidentally by ingestion of intermediate or paratenic hosts and the parasite does not complete the life cycle as it does in rats. Worms in the brain cause eosinophilic meningitis. This zoonosis, widespread in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, has now been reported from other regions. In the Americas there are records from the United States, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil, Ecuador, and Haiti. In Brazil seven human cases have been reported since 2007 from the southeastern and northeastern regions. Epidemiological studies found infected specimens of Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus as well as many species of molluscs, including the giant African land snail, Achatina fulica, from various regions of Brazil. The spread of angiostrongyliasis is currently a matter of concern in Brazil.
This paper deals with the morpholgy of Pomacea lineata (Spix, 1827) collected at its type locality. The shell is globose, moderately heavy, horn-colored with brown spiral bands; apex subelevated; 4 - ...5 rounded whorls increasing in diameter rather rapidly, separated by deep suture. Aperture large and ovoid; outer lip sharp; umbilicus narrow and deep; operculum concentric, corneous. Ratios: shell width/shell length = 0.74 - 0.83 (mean 0.78); spire length/shell length = 0.10 - 0.18 (mean 0.13); aperture length/shell length = 0.70 - 0.77 (mean 0.73). The animal is longisiphonate. Renal organ brownish with marked invagination at its right edge. Ureter elongated with its long axis transverse to the main axis of the kidney. The radula is taenioglossate (2.1.1.1.2) and has on average 35 transverse rows of teeth. The form and arrangement of the radula teeth are nearly the same as in other Ampullariidae. The testis is cream-colored and lies in the first three whorls of the spire. Spermiduct uniformly narrow, running to the base of the spire. Seminal vesicle whitish, slightly pressed dorsoventrally. Prostate cylindric and thick, similar in color to the testis. Penis whiplike, with a closed circular spermiduct. Penis pouch ovoid completely envelping the penis. Penis sheath elongated, broad prosimally, tapering distally. Its inner surface shows a longitudinal channel along its proximal half and two glands, one on the middle and the other apical. Ovary composed of branched whitish tubules situated on the surface of the digestive gland. Oviduct slender running along the columellar axis toward the base of the spire. Seminal receptalble tubiform, thick-walled and rounded proximally. Albumen gland large, pink, enclosing the receptacle and the spiral capsule gland. Vestigial male copulatory apparatus (penis and its sheath) present in all females examined.
Neste trabalho e estudada a morfologia de Pomacea lineata (Spix, 1827) baseada em material coletado na localidade-tipo. Concha com espessura moderada, globosa, castanha, com faixas espirais castanhas-escuras; ápice pouco elevado, 4-5 giros arredondados crescendo rapidamente em diâmetro, separados por suturas profundas. Abertura grande oval; lábio externo simples; umbigo pequeno e profundo; opérculo concêntrico, córneo. Razão: largura da concha/comprimento da concha = 0.74 - 0.83 (média 0.78); comprimento da espira/comprimento da concha = 0.10 - 0.18 (média 0.13); comprimento da abertura/comprimento da concha = 0.70 - 0.77 (média 0.73). Animal com sifão bem desenvolvido. A rádula é tenioglossa (2.1.1.1.2) e tem em média 35 fileiras transversais de dentes. A forma e a disposição dos dentes radulares são semelhantes ao padrão dos ampularídeos. Rim de cor castanha apresentando uma invaginação acentuada na parede direita. Ureter alongado e transversal ao eixo principal do rim. Testículo constituído por uma massa cor creme, ocupando as três primeiras voltas da espira. Espermiduto estreito e uniforme, correndo para a base da espira. Vesícula seminal esbranquiçada levemente achatada dorso-ventralmente. Próstata cilíndrica e compacta com coloração semelhante à do testículo. Pênis em forma de chicote com canal espermático fechado e de contorno circular. Bolsa do pênis ovalada, envolvendo-o completamente. Bainha do pênis alongada tendo sua largura diminuída gradualmente da base para a extremidade; sua superfície interna apresenta um canal mediano em sua metade proximal e duas glândulas, uma mediana e outra apical. Ovário constituído por túbulos ramificados branco-amarelados situados superficilamente sobre a glândula digestiva. Oviduto estreito correndo pelo eixo columelar até a base da espira. Receptáculo seminal tubular com parede espessa e extremidade proximal alargada. Glândula de albume volumosa e rosada envolvendo o receptáculo seminal e a glândula da casca em espiral. Vestígio do aparelho copulador masculino (pênis e sua bainha) presente em todas as fêmeas examinadas.
As one of the most successful invasive land snail species, Achatina (Lissachatina) fulica Bowdich, 1822 has achieved wide global distribution, particularly in (sub)tropical regions, with further ...dispersal likely due to climate change. This species of giant African snails (up to 17 cm shell length) is a pest that has extensive negative impact on agriculture and can serve as vector for several parasites, including Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a nematode parasite that causes (human) eosinophilic meningitis, an emergent disease. Investigation showed that A. cantonensis infection negatively impacts the metabolism of A. fulica by depleting polysaccharide stores of the intermediate host, compromising the energy balance of the snail. A review of the literature indicates that A. fulica possesses potent innate type immune defenses to counter infection, including phagocytic hemocytes capable of deploying reactive oxygen species and lectins for non-self recognition, a serine protease-dependent coagulation response (not observed in other taxa of gastropods), as well as antimicrobial proteins including achacin, an antimicrobial protein. A recent chromosome level genome assembly will facilitate progressively detailed characterization of these immune features of A. fulica. We strongly encourage further immunological studies of A. fulica, ranging from organismal level to molecular biology to gain better understanding of the A. fulica internal defense response to nematode pathogens like A. cantonensis and the contribution of immune function to the invasiveness of (snail) species. Characterization of immunity of A. fulica, representing the understudied Stylommatophora (panpulmonate landsnails) will also broaden the comparative immunology of Gastropoda.
•The giant African snail Achatina fulica, the most widely distributed invasive pest land snail, will likely disperse further with climate change.•Achatina fulica is intermediate host for the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis that causes eosinophilic meningitis.•Study of metabolic and immunological aspects of this parasite host provide better understanding of epidemiology and inform on comparative immunology of gastropods.
Um levantamento da malacofauna límnina do Campus de Manguinhos, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, foi realizado nos últimos dois anos visando comparar as espécies hoje existentes com aquelas ...encontradas no início deste século. Foram pesquisadas 18 coleções hídricas numa extensão de 880.000m², sendo encontradas em 13 delas as seguintes espécies: Antillorbis nordestensis, Biomphalaria glabrata, Biomphalaria straminea, Lymnaea columella, Melanoides tuberculatus, Physa cubensis, Pomacea glauca e Pomacea lineata. Destacam-se o desaparecimento de Biomphalaria tenagophila, registrada por Lutz em 1918, a introdução de B. straminea e da espécie asiática M. tuberculatus. Nenhum molusco apresentou infecção por Schistosoma mansoni.
A survey of freshwater gastropods of the Campus of Manguinhos, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, was carried out during the last two years aiming to compare the current species with those found at the beginning of this century. Among 18 breeding sites in 880,000m² of the surveyed area, 13 showed the following species: Antillorbis nordestensis; Biomphalaria glabrata; Biomphalaria straminea; Lymnaea columella; Melanoides tuberculatus; Physa cubensis; Pomacea glauca and Pomacea lineata. Notably, Biomphalaria tenagophila reported by Lutz in 1918, had disappeared and B. straminea and the Asiatic thiarid M. tuberculatus had been introduced. No specimens infected with Schistosoma mansoni were found.
A survey of freshwater gastropods of the Campus of Manguinhos, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, was carried out during the last two years aiming to compare the current species with those found ...at the beginning of this century. Among 18 breeding sites in 880,000m2 of the surveyed area, 13 showed the following species: Antillorbis nordestensis; Biomphalaria glabrata; Biomphalaria straminea; Lymnaea columella; Melanoides tuberculatus; Physa cubensis; Pomacea glauca and Pomacea lineata. Notably, Biomphalaria tenagophila reported by Lutz in 1918, had disappeared and B. straminea and the Asiatic thiarid M. tuberculatus had been introduced. No specimens infected with Schistosoma mansoni were found.
As well as malaria and yellow fever, schistosomiasis is one of the main
endemic diseases associated to environments which suffered some impact
related to the development of great economic projects, ...as for example
the construction of hydroelectric power stations. Aiming to investigate
the occurrence and distribution of freshwater snails of medical and
veterinary importance in the area which suffered impact from the Manso
hydroelectric power station a survey was performed during the period of
2002 to 2003 and revealed the occurrence of populations of Biomphalaria
amazonica and Biomphalaria occidentalis . Studies on
parasite-mollusc compatibility were undertaken using five B. amazonica
colonies (Baräo de Melgaço, Poconé, Santo Antônio
do Leverger, and Chapada dos Guimaräes, in the Manso and Casca
rivers), and four B. occidentalis colonies (Cuiabá, Santo
Antônio do Leverger, and Chapada dos Guimaräes, in the
Água Fria district and Casca river) were exposed to miracidia of
Schistosoma mansoni . Of 257 snails of B. amazonica used, 17 became
infected (infection index of 6.61%) and all specimens of B.
occidentalis proved unsusceptible. According to the strains used, of
the 158 snails exposed to BH miracidia, 6 became infected (3.79%); of
the 44 exposed to SJ miracidia, 6 became infected (13.63%); and of the
55 snails of B. amazonica exposed to EC miracidia, 5 became infected
(9.09%). These results point out the low possibility of introduction of
schistosomiasis in those areas, but we believe it can not be discarded
as due the presence of B. amazonica .
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