Occurrence of mollusks, genus Biomphalaria, in parks of the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Authors

  • Cristiano Lara Massara
  • Martin Johannes Enk
  • Roberta Lima Caldeira
  • Cristiane Lafetá Furtado de Mendonça
  • Ronaldo Guilherme Carvalho Scholte
  • Omar dos Santos Carvalho

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5216/rpt.v41i4.21705

Keywords:

Biomphalaria, Mollusks, Municipal parks, Belo Horizonte, MG.

Abstract

Until recently, schistosomiasis was considered the most prevalent endemic disease among populations in rural areas, especially in the northeastern and southeastern states of Brazil, and therefore classified as a “rural endemic disease.” Recent studies have shown that the epidemiology of this disease is changing by transmission in the outskirts of and even within large urban centers. The city of Belo Horizonte has 71 parks, 55 of which are open to the public. Of these 31 (43.6%) have one or more water collections. The objective of this study was to carry out a malacological
survey, among the water collections in these 31 parks of Belo Horizonte. In 11 parks a total number of 551 snails of the genus Biomphalaria, intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni, were collected. In addition, specimens of the genus Drepanotrema sp, Pomacea sp, Melanoides sp, Physa sp and Lymnaea sp, the latter an intermediate host of the parasite, which causes fascioliasis, were found. All
specimens of the genus Biomphalaria were negative for S. mansoni cercariae. However, considering the potential contamination of the environment with human feces containing S. mansoni eggs in combination with the presence of intermediate hosts, these findings serve as an alert for a possible installation of schistosomiasis transmission in the municipal parks of the city of Belo Horizonte.

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How to Cite

MASSARA, C. L.; ENK, M. J.; CALDEIRA, R. L.; MENDONÇA, C. L. F. de; SCHOLTE, R. G. C.; CARVALHO, O. dos S. Occurrence of mollusks, genus Biomphalaria, in parks of the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Revista de Patologia Tropical / Journal of Tropical Pathology, Goiânia, v. 41, n. 4, 2012. DOI: 10.5216/rpt.v41i4.21705. Disponível em: https://revistas.ufg.br/iptsp/article/view/21705. Acesso em: 17 jul. 2024.

Issue

Vol. 41 No. 4 (2012)

Section

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

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