A team of researchers from the University of Lausanne took on the task of examining a growing popular and exotic pet: the giant African snail. They found that this snail is a potential carrier of infections for humans, while owners can be seen sharing posts on social media touching their pets.
Exotic snails as pets, a growing trend on social media, have potential health risks for human beings. A study from the University of Lausanne published in the journal Parasites and Vectors exposed the possibility of infection through contact with the giant African snail, which some people keep as a pet.
The study determined that these snails are known to carry several pathogens and parasites that can affect humans. The most common one they found is a pathogen known as rat lungworm, which can infect human beings, leading to a rare form of meningitis. The study also said that it is “likely” that there are potential pathogens and parasites these snails could carry that scientists are unaware of.
“It is urgent to raise public awareness of the health risks associated with L. fulica, […] and to regulate its trade and ownership internationally,” the authors of the study alerted.
Snails and other exotic animals can be purchased online as well as in physical marketplaces both wild or bred.
Bred or wild African snails
In researching the trend, the study found 623 Instagram users who likely owned the animals as pets and examined their posts. They found that it was common that owners would hold the snails in their hands and occasionally on their faces.
Mena, a 26-year-old owner of three giant African snails in Naples, said that there is a nuance to owning these animals as pets when they are bred and not captured.
“You cannot interact [with snails] like with a dog or a cat, but they are animals that know how to give affection in certain ways,” Mena, who likes their calming presence, said. “In cold, scientific terms [snails] do not communicate feelings or anything affectionate […] but those who love animals interpret their attitudes and you notice certain things. They tend to be curious animals even if I can guarantee they have their own characters. I noted that they can recognize those who take care of them.”
When prompted with the study, Mena, who also owns insects and butterflies, said she was aware of it and agreed that wild giant African snails are inadvisable to take on as pets. But she considers this only applies to wild specimens and not hers since they were Italian-bred. “It is more logical that [wild great African snails] have parasites; it is not very advisable to take wild specimens [as pets],” Mena said.
She added that several bred snails are available in Italy in reptile fairs, and that her snails were “very clean and safe”. At these fairs, a snail can cost 10 to 15 euros with increasing prices depending on rarity (some snails can cost up to 100 euros on some online specialized retailers).
Regarding the safety of bred great African snails in Europe, Jérôme Gippet, from the department of ecology and evolution at the university of Lausanne who worked on the study, said that they have the “potential” to carry disease, but more research is needed. However, he did mention that there had been some prior research related to this topic.
A study was published in 2019 on the prevalence of parasites in pet great African snails in Italy. A sample of privately-owned snails was examined and larvae of a parasite that can affect humans were found in fecal samples of these snails. Therefore, the study concluded that parasite infection of other pets and humans was possible via contact with a great African snail.
Invasion of the snail
The origin of the species (Lissachatina fulica) is East Africa, and has spread its population to Europe as well as other continents. Mr. Gippet said that there is a giant African snail “invasion” of the tropics.
“This species is one of the most widespread terrestrial animals. It originates from eastern Africa and has been transported all over the world by diverse human activities,” Mr. Gippet said. “[The species] is quite a threat to biodiversity, agriculture, and livestock and human health in many countries including Brazil, India and the US (Florida).”
In Mexico, they are considered an invasive species, due to their tendency to carry diseases that affect other local plant and animal species. In the United States, it is banned to own a giant African snail as a pet. Populations of this snail have managed to maintain “self-sustaining populations” in several different countries, particularly in the tropics.
The climate in Europe seems, for now, less favorable to the expansion of the snail. But Mr. Gippet already knows of two instances where adult L. fulica were able to survive French and Swiss winters by digging into the ground to hibernate and re-emerge in spring.
Mr. Gippet thinks that infection is less likely through bred snails. However, he added that rodents in Europe can be a source of infections for snails as well, an often ignored possibility.
“Moreover, people forget that snails can also get infected with parasites in Europe, because we have mice and rats too… and they are typically the kind of animals that thrive near human beings.”
