Par Briac Trebert
Published on 23 June 23 at 22:24 See my news Follow News The giant snails of Africa have been listed as one of the 100 most invasive animals in the world. (© Sonel.SA / Wikimedia)
Creeping threat in the United States! They are viscous, and moreover, they are dangerous.
Of the “giant” snails just led the American authorities placed an area of Florida in quarantine, announced this Tuesday, June 20, 2023, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Fdacs).
Prohibited moves
People who live in the Miramar area, a town in Broward County in southeast Florida, can come and go.
But there is illegal move these gastropods, along with any soil, debris, yard waste or plants, into or out of the quarantine area without a compliance approval from the Department of Agriculture.
Meanwhile, state officials will work to get rid of the mollusc — named the Giant African Land Snail (the Gals).
Able to eat at least 500 different plant species
Considered harmful to agriculture, the Gals capable of eating at least 500 different plant species. “It’s one of the most invasive pests on the planet,” according to the Florida Department of Agriculture.
A snail that has a high reproductive capacity, approximately 2,500 babies per yearand which can also engulf “the paint and the stucco of the houses”, even damaging the tires cars.
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Snails responsible for a type of meningitis
This invasive species of large snail, which can reach the size of a human fist, is also likely to carry a parasite causing meningitis, warn the authorities.
He may carry the “rat lungworm”, which causes a type of meningitis (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) in humans and animals. “People can become infected if they come into contact with the snail or its slime, for example, by eating unwashed vegetables or produce that one of the snails has touched,” explains the New York Times.
“The larvae migrate from the digestive tract to the meninges, where they trigger eosinophilic meningitis with fever, headache and meningismus, accompanied by eosinophilia (when a certain type of white blood cell is too high in the blood, Ed). Ocular invasion sometimes occurs,” details the MSD Manual.
Le Gals devours “breadfruit, cassava, cocoa, papaya, groundnut, rubber, most varieties of beans, peas, cucumbers, melons and plants of horticultural, cultivation and medicinal value”, list the United States Department of Agriculture.
A pesticide used to treat the area
State officials will use the pesticide metaldehyde to treat the area, as it is approved for use in a selection of vegetables, crops, fruits and certain plants in residential areas, details the Fdacs.
People living in the designated treatment area will be notified by state authorities at least one day in advance before pesticide treatment takes place.
“Metaldehyde works by disrupting the mucus-producing ability of snails and slugs,” the authorities say. The pesticide “reduces their digestion and mobility, and makes them susceptible to dehydration.”
Snails and slugs that have eaten metaldehyde often seek hiding places, become inactive, and begin to die within days.
US authorities
Stowaways on containers?
The giant African land snail has been eradicated twice in Florida since the species was first detected in the state in 1969, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture: first in 1975 and again in 2021.
Last year, however, he had again been spotted in Pasco County, north of Tampa, prompting a quarantine that remains active. Lee County was also quarantined this year.
It is unclear exactly how the snails arrived in Florida. It is possible that they came as stowaways on shipping containers or as eggs in potted plants that people brought back from the Caribbean, advance The New York Timesthis Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
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As its name suggests, these snails (scientific name: Lissachatina fulica) are from Africa. From East Africa, to be exact. But the pet industry, too, may have allowed him to find his way.
They would have been introduced for the first time to Hawaii in 1936, details the United States Department of Agriculture. They have been listed as one of the 100 most invasive animals in the world.
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2023-06-23 07:00:00
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