Por cuanto el molusco Achatina fulica nativo del
África es vector de
helmintos , pero su relación con protozoarios y
bacterias es poco conocida, decidimos estudiar las excretas de 1.200 ejemplares capturados en los estados Anzoátegui, Monagas, Sucre y Nueva Esparta, del noreste de
Venezuela . Su
moco pedal y
heces mostraron
infección por los protozoarios Chilomastix spp.,
Trichomonas spp.,
Giardia spp.,
Balantidium spp.,
Entamoeba spp., Iodamoeba spp.,
Blastocystis spp. Y por los
helmintos de los grupos Ascarioidea,
Trichuroidea , Ancylostomatidae y
Cestoda . El
moco céfalopodal mostró únicamente larvas de
Rhabditida . Las
bacterias Citrobacter freundii ,
Escherichia coli ,
Klebsiella pneumoniae , K. azaenae,
Aeromonas hydrophila ,
Acinetobacter baumannii ,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ,
Campylobacter spp. infectaron a las tres excretas. Los mecanismos de
transmisión y la composición de las excretas, como nichos fisiológicamente apropiados para los organismos encontrados, son discutidos en relación con el
riesgo epidemiológico que el molusco representa en
salud pública y
veterinaria .
The
mollusk Achatina fulica, native to Eastern Equatorial
Africa , has been incriminated as a carrier or vector of helminthes. Nevertheless, information in the
literature as regards its status as a carrier for
bacteria is scarce, and we could find no reference at all for its relation to protozoa. We studied microscopically the excreta from 1200
snails captured in Anzoátegui, Monagas, Sucre and Nueva Esparta states, in northeast
Venezuela . The pedal
mucus and
feces were infected by the protozoa
Chilomastix spp.,
Trichomonas spp.,
Giardia spp.,
Balantidium spp.,
Entamoeba spp., Iodamoeba spp.,
Blastocystis spp., as well as helminthes of Ascarioidea,
Trichuroidea , Ancylostomatidae and
Cestoda groups. The only helminthes found in the cephalopodal
mucus were
Rhabditida larvae . The three excreta were also infected by the
bacteria Citrobacter freundii ,
Escherichia coli ,
Klebsiella pneumoniae , K. azaenae,
Aeromonas hydrophila ,
Acinetobacter baumannii ,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ,
Campylobacter spp.
Risk of
infection and
transmission mechanisms as well as the composition of the excreta as appropriate physiological niches for the organisms mentioned, are discussed with regard to the epidemiological importance of this
snail for in
human and
veterinary health .