ベネズエラで巨大カタツムリ異常繁殖　人への健康被害懸念

【マラカイボＡＦＰ＝時事】南米ベネズエラでアフリカ原産の巨大カタツムリが異常繁殖し、人への健康被害が懸念されている。長雨の影響で繁殖に拍車が掛かっているとされる。（写真はベネズエラで異常発生しているアフリカマイマイ。スリア州の州都マラカイボで）
　問題となっているのは通常、サハラ砂漠以南に生息するカタツムリ、アフリカマイマイ。最初にコロニーが発見されたのは１１月初旬、西部スリア州のマラカイボ湖畔だった。以降、周辺の農地や隣のタチラ州でも見つかっている。
　スリア州の州都マラカイボのラファエル・ラミレス市長はＡＦＰに対し、「何か所かでは１日当たり３５０～４００匹のカタツムリ」が捕獲されており、当局が対策に乗り出していると述べた。
　アフリカマイマイは２週間ごとに最大６００個の卵を産む繁殖力の強さに加え、寿命も平均６年と比較的長いことから、侵略的外来種とみなされている。また農作物に被害を与えるだけでなく、人に髄膜炎や脳炎、腸炎を引き起こす寄生虫を媒介することがある。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/11/14-14:56）

A plague of giant African snails that pose potential health risks to humans is causing alarm in Venezuela where sustained rains have facilitated their proliferation.
The first colonies of the sub-Saharan Achatina fulica snail were discovered at the beginning of November on the shores of Lake Maracaibo in western Venezuela.
Since then, more snails have been found in agricultural areas in the region, as well as in neighboring Tachira state.
Specific sites have been verified... where approximately 350 to 400 snails are being collected per day, Rafael Ramirez, the mayor of the city of Maracaibo, told AFP.
He said authorities were working hard combat the snails.
The giant African snail is considered an invasive species because of its reproductive capacity -- up to 600 eggs every two weeks -- and its relatively long lifespan of six years on average.
It can be devastating to crops and also carries parasites that can cause meningitis, encephalitis and intestinal disorders in humans.
The snail has been present in Venezuela since 1997 with the last plague detected in 2017 although in smaller quantities, said Jose Sandoval, director of wildlife at the Azul Ambientalista NGO.
This will be unstoppable because they are big and already adults: They have already laid eggs, said Sandoval.
We are faced with an invasion, a plague, and so it is hard to eradicate them when they reach these numbers, but they can be controlled.
Sandoval took AFP on an eradication mission in Maracaibo in which he collected 437 snails in just two hours.
He said the prolonged rainy season was to blame for the snails' reappearance and rapid reproduction.
They will remain until March, they will damage crops... they are voracious, he added.