The environmental doctor and President of “Amigos del Bosque” (Friends of the Forest), Elio Ríos, informed La Patilla that the African snail itself does not cause harmful effects on people’s health, but the bacteria and parasites housed in its shell do.
By La Patilla
Nov 07, 2022
This animal moves around streams and puddles of water, which encourages bacteria or parasites to coexist within its body, which are the ones that ultimately cause diseases.
The specialist stated that the heavy and continuous rainfall has caused the displacement of the mollusk in Maracaibo and San Francisco in Zulia State.
Dr. Ríos said that the proliferation of this species began in Zulia cities when it became a commercial object, to produce and sell the snail slime.
“People started making their own farms and selling this snail and its slime at the “Las Pulgas” public market.”
The environmentalist emphasized that part of the molluscs escaped to more humid areas, such as the ravines in the south of Maracaibo and the north of the San Francisco municipality. The mass proliferation of these animals in the city had not been seen since 2013.
The Mayor of Maracaibo, Rafael Ramírez Colina, confirmed the presence of African snails in three parishes in the city: Cristo de Aranza, Bolívar and Olegario Villalobos, all adjacent to the shores of Lake Maracaibo.
Ramírez Colina suggested to citizens that if they come across the mollusk, they should put on gloves to pick it up, since they should not have direct contact with it due to the bacterial load it has on its shell.
“The mollusk must be collected with a glove and placed in a container with water and salt. Then wait a few minutes and dig a hole 50 to 60 centimeters deep and put the snail there,” he said.
Another option is to go to the agencies in charge of receiving them to reduce their proliferation. They should go to the Environmental Health Directorate at Av. Dr. Portillo in Maracaibo.
The mayor of Maracaibo reported that they have already started an educational campaign aimed at children so that they know what to do if they happen to encounter an African snail, which is easy to identify due to its size, its dark color and its brown stripes.
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