Giant African Land Snail Appears In Florida, Prompts Quarantine, Meningitis Concerns

Florida, you’ve got snail. A Giant African Land Snail spotted in New Port Richey area of Pasco County, Florida. As a result, the Florida Department of Agriculture is telling everyone to get the “shell” outta there and establishing a quarantine area that stretches nearly six miles from the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 19. That’s for two reasons. One is that Giant African Land Snails can destroy a wide variety of plants. Another is the dangerous parasite that such snails may be carrying: the rat lungworm.

The following CBS 10 Tampa Bay news segment showed the quarantine area:

You can imagine that anything with the words the words “rat” and “worm” in its name has a good chance of not being good. That’s why not too many celebrities have named their kids “Rat Lungworm.” Otherwise known as the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lungworm is typically found in rodents. The feces of infected rodents can contain Angiostrongylus larvae, yet another reason not to play with or eat rat feces. Snails and slugs don’t know better, though, and can in turn get infected when eat such larvae. Such larvae grow but don’t felly become adults while in snails and slugs. No, it’s a rat-eats-snails-and-slugs world that completes the life cycle of the rat lungworm. Once the more mature larva makes it back into a rodent, it can then become an adult worm. Thus, competes the rat lungworm circle of life.

You can break into this circle by either consciously eating an infected snail or slug or accidentally eating one hiding out in raw produce such as lettuce. That’s why you may want clarification if your waiter asks you whether you want a slug of dressing on your salad. Also, make sure that any snails that you eat are well-cooked so that any parasites are escar-gone:

And if someone challenges you to eat a live slug during a Truth or Dare game, choose “truth” instead. Although you may end up not having any symptoms, the parasite can cause a rare type of meningitis called eosinophilic meningitis. Meningitis is a potentially life-threatening inflammation of the membranes that wrap around the brain like Saran Wrap. When you have eosinophilic meningitis, you may have a headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, or tingling of your skin.

Now you may be wondering how large a Giant African Land Snail can be. After all, the word “giant” can be an exaggeration, especially when used by a potential date. Well, in this case “giant” means up to eight inches long and five inches in diameter. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) calls these snails “one of the most damaging snails in the world.” Besides potentially carrying the rat lungworm, the snail can treat a wide range of plants like they were hot dogs in a Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. They will eat through many different agriculturally, economically, and medically important plants, ranging from cocoa to papaya to peanut to rubber plants.

These snails, otherwise known as Lissachatina fulica, were first found in eastern Tanzania and eastern Kenya on the continent of Africa. These snails have subsequently established themselves throughout South Asia, Southeast Asia, southern China, the Indo-Pacific Basin island groups, many Caribbean Islands, and much of South America. It reached the U.S. in 1966, when someone brought the snail to downtown Miami, Florida. The snail quickly reproduced because that’s what snails do and began to wreak agricultural havoc. Since then Florida has waged a human vs. snail shell game. After spending around one million dollars at the time to get rid of the snails and their eggs, the state declared the snail eradicated in 1975. The snail might have been escar-gone back then, but in 2011, someone brought the snail back to Miami, Florida, again. This second round of eradication attempts cost the state (meaning tax payers) over $23 million. In September 2021, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) declared the Giant African Land Snail in Florida eradicated again. Now, less than year later, the snail is back again, this time spotted by a master gardener. And finding the Giant African Land Snail is not like finding a bunny or a puppy or a buppy, regardless of how adorable they may appear to be:

Obviously, the return of the Giant African Land Snail is not good news. Florida certainly has its share of public health problems right now ranging from an upswing in Covid-19 cases to a meningococcal disease outbreak to a bunch of monkeypox cases to a Listeria outbreak. In the meantime, if you do see a Giant African Land Snail, call the authorities as soon as possible. And don’t touch or consume the snail. Heed the warning above. You don’t want anyone to say, “I nematode you so.”