The government has warned Dominicans against handling and consuming the African giant snail which is said to be environmentally invasive and harmful to health. Diane Stoute Abraham of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Unit (PPQ) of the Ministry of Agriculture stated that the large snails were spotted at the Dominica State College and in Bellevue Rawle.
Abraham said the snails were first discovered in Dominica in 2007 and had been under official government control so that their population will not get out of hand. She stated that the African giant snail has the tendency of establishing itself in new locations after hitchhiking on people and vehicles to reach other areas of the country.
“The giant African snail is a pest of quarantine importance to Dominica,” she said. “The snail itself is an excellent hitchhiker so we are informing the public to please be vigilant when accessing these areas, especially persons that own private vehicles and heavy equipment owners as well as garbage collectors. The snail has a tendency to hitchhike very easily and establish itself in new locations”.
Given that the snail is also nocturnal, Abraham said environmental officials will carry out surveillance operations to trap it, while also engaging in public awareness campaigns to educate the populace on its environmental prevalence and health risks.
The PPQ director further warned people against handling the snail with their bare hands, emphasizing that the snail could infect people with meningitis and other neurological infections. She also warned people to wash vegetables thoroughly before consumption so that they do not ingest the eggs of the invasive species. She added that the snail is a vector to the rat lugworm which is a disease-causing parasite.
Originating in East Africa, the African giant snail grows to a height of 7 centimeters (2.8 inches) and a length of 20 centimeters (7.9 inches).
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