Abstract: Paragonimiasis and angiostrongyliasis are important food-borne parasitic diseases in a number of countries including China. Both diseases are transmitted by freshwater and terrestrial intermediate snail hosts. In the present investigation, we examined the prevalence of Paragonimus and Angiostrongylus cantonensis in the intermediate host snails in southeastern China’s Fujian province where paragonimiasis and angiostrongyliasis are endemic. The prevalence of P. westermani cercariae in the stream-type snail Semisulcospira libertine found in the breeding grounds in Shouning county was 0.09% in the upstream and 0.56% in the downstream, respectively. For pit-ditch type, the prevalence of P. westermani cercariae was 0.19% and 0.82% in upstream and downstream, respectively. The snail Tricula xiaoqiaoensis was infected with Paragonimus skrjabini cercariae with prevalence of 0.33% in the pit-ditch type and 1.52% in the seepage type in Zhenghe county. Prevalence of A. cantonensis larvae in Achatina fulica in Nan’an county in garbage stack, vegetable plot and crop land were 83.54, 39.53 and 19.23%, respectively. In Lianjiang county, prevalence of A. cantonensis larvae in snails Pila polita in trench, paddy field, residential ditch, vegetable irrigation ditch and pond in the same river system were 4.08, 8.82, 75.34, 34.04 and 5.56%, respectively. The snail Bellamya lithophaga found in the western suburb of Fuzhou city was identified as the new intermediated host for A. cantonensis with a prevalence of 14.38%. Demonstration of prevalence of Paragonimus and A. cantonensis in wild snails in Fujian province poses substantial risk for future outbreaks of the two food-borne parasitic diseases.
Y.Z. Cheng, J. Hou, X.H. He, Z.K. Hong, L.S. Li, G.H. Lin, M.X. Chen and S.H. Chen, 2011. Prevalence of Paragonimus and Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infections in Snails in Southeastern China. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 10: 2599-2602.