Zoonosis and Bio-hazards in pet Snails

[Douchka]

Hi everyone,

will I guess I'm not the only one who asked, but I would like more in-depth information about zoonosis and bio hazards in pet snails. We snail owners all know that our critters can carry hazardous bacteria (salmonella) and sometimes roundworms, but what about more detailed info ?

1) All snails naturally carry salmonella, but do wild snails carry more than captive-bred ?

2) Some GALS species (like Achatina fulica) can carry Angiostrongylus cantonensis , which causes Angiostrongyliasis in humans. But can European species carry this worm as well ?

3) Are wild-taken snails more likely to carry Angiostrongyliasis than captive-bred ?

4) Which is the percentage of risk for a captive-bred snail to carry Angiostrongyliasis ?

5) Do you know the exact list of species which can carry Angiostrongyliasis (aside from A. fulica) ?

6) Is there a way to "deworm" snails ?

7) Same question with salmonella: is there a way to "remove" them from the snail's body, or is there a symbiosis between them ?

8) Do you think it would be possible to test snails (especially in breeding facilities) in order to know if they're carrying Angiostrongylus cantonensis ? (for example by analyzing a feces sample)
This could help in preventing breeders and/or owners from putting infected snails with sane ones.

That's all, folks
Feel free to add your own questions !

[coyote]

I'm sure that analyzing a fecal sample would yield info regarding worm infestation. I don't know how one would do that at home, though, and to send the sample to a veterinary lab for testing it would have to be submitted by a vet's office.

A good de-wormer is pumpkin seeds, either put whole in the tank or ground up and added to the other food. My snails like to rasp on them whole. Other worm-killing foods are pomegranates; white figs (Smyrna or Calimyrna), the seeds of which tear the worms' skins open; garlic; and raw cayenne pepper. Of all those foods, I think that the pumpkin seeds are the one most likely to be accepted by a snail. I've tried fresh figs in the tank (there is a fig tree a couple opf blocks away from my house), and my snails seemed to ignore them.

The issue of WC vs. CB snails having the greatest instance of zoonoses is a good question, and I'm not sure what the answer would be. I can see how certain illnesses could be perpetuated in a tank down through CB generations springing from a WC ancestor.

WRT angiostrongyliasis in particular, apparently it's not acquired casually by humans. The way I understand it, you would have to eat a snail that had been improperly cooked, that had eaten some rat droppings left by an infected rat. The likelihood of that happening to a snail hobbyist is low, IMO.

[Douchka]

Thank you coyote.
I read another topic (entitled "meningitis") which was very interesting.

If I have enough money, I'll ask my vet to analyse Alastor's fecal samples. I am hypocondriac (= anguish of getting ill), and owning snails is already a challenge for me, as I know that they're "filled-with-bacteria"... ^^;
I sprayed Alastor's tank an hour ago, with a sprayer which was not clean-clean. Of course, I washed my hands and nails very carefully, but I am still in a hypocondriasis crisis...That s--ks...

Are pumpkin seeds useful against Angiostrongylus cantonensis ? In this case, I'll give Alastor some as soon as I buy pumpkin !

[coyote]

Pumpkin seeds will kill a wide range of worm species; unfortunately I don't know about Angiostrongylus specifically. I find unsalted raw organic pumpkin seeds in the store, usually in the same section as packaged or bulk nuts. It's easier and a lot less messy than getting a whole pumpkin! (Unless you really love pumpkin! ;D)

Have you tried wearing rubber gloves while feeding the snails and cleaning the tank? That might help with knowing you're keeping your hands clean and not in direct contact with anything in the tank.