On May 6, a woman living on the second floor in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, posted a video on social platforms saying that she forgot to close the window on a rainy day, and when she went home, she found two large snails crawling into the kitchen, one of which had climbed into her cup.
Some netizens reminded in the comment area: This snail must not be touched or eaten, and the cup can also be thrown away!
Not an ordinary snail
In fact, it is an invasive species
Coincidentally, the topic #Guangdong's snails know how to hide from the rain# has recently caused heated discussions.
The reason was that someone posted a video of snails in Guangdong hiding from the rain, in which several snails "hung upside down" under street lamps to hide from the rain. Many netizens in Guangdong commented that after the rainstorm, they had seen this kind of snails, and they often appeared on the road or in the grass.
According to the popular science of the official account of the Guangzhou Health Commission, in fact, this is not an ordinary snail, nor is it a "local" snail in Guangdong, this is a brown cloud agate snail. It is commonly called the "African giant snail", one of the first 16 invasive alien species on the continent.
▲Comparison of the body size of the African giant snail and the native snail
Its home is in East Africa and is the largest snail in the world. This large snail usually likes to hide in cool and damp places, under the roots of grass and trees, damp walls, gutters and other places where fallen leaves rot. But it can't survive in water, so when it rains heavily, low, damp places are prone to flooding, and the water drives them to crawl from hiding to where there is no water, and the most recent time is when they are most active.
The African giant snail is one of the world's top 100 malignant invasive species and has been ravaging many tropical and subtropical regions around the world. On the mainland, they are quietly expanding their "territory" in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hainan and other places.
Don't touch it when you see it
Don't look at their simple appearance, in fact, it is not an exaggeration to call them "drug kings". First of all, it likes to live in places where all kinds of rodents live, and often eats rat feces by mistake, so it carries all kinds of bacteria on its body. Pathogenic bacteria such as Pyoccaria aeruginosa, Proteus hepaticus, and Serratia are not strange in it.
Touching it with your hands can cause dermatitis, leaving your skin swollen and itchy, or even blistered. In more severe cases, it directly invades the immune system and causes symptoms such as fever.
Secondly, it is also an intermediate host for various parasites, the most common of which is Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which once eaten into the mouth, will parasitize in the central nervous system or cerebrospinal fluid of the human body, causing the human body to have a constant fever, headache, and finally lead to eosinophilic meningitis.
Even if you don't enter the mouth, just touch it with your hands, you may be hit▼
Meningitis caused by nematodes can also be cured with anthelmintic and anti-infective treatments if detected promptly. Once delayed, it can lead to dementia and even death.
Seeing this, some people will think: If I don't eat or touch, then it's fine.
But when snails crawl, they may leave behind mucus, which itself carries pathogens, and even in their feces, there are still larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. African giant snail crawling vegetables, fruits, towels, toilet seats...... There is a possibility of residual pathogens.
How to avoid being infected by African giant snails?
If you encounter a giant African snail, please be careful, be careful, and be careful! Keep the following two points in mind▼
- Fruits and vegetables must be handled before eating to prevent food contamination by African giant snails;
- Do not consume any wild snails and wild freshwater shrimp, crabs and frogs.
If you accidentally touch them, you should also keep two points in mind▼
- If you have the conditions, go to the hospital for disinfection, and if you don't have the conditions, go home and wash your hands carefully;
- If you have a fever or headache, go to the hospital immediately to check for parasite infection.
Usually you encounter African giant snails on the road, and it is recommended that you "humanely dispose of them". Sprinkle some salt and the African giant snail will die of dehydration.
Don't be overbearing, they are also known as "pastoral killers", which can harm more than 500 plants and more than 20 kinds of crops, and can also cause biological contamination of manure and mucus.
Please pay attention, and remind relatives and friends to control their hands and mouths, not to touch or eat!
This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account of "People's Daily", source: Guangzhou Daily Comprehensive Guangzhou Health Commission, Shenzhen Health Commission