A survey of freshwater and terrestrial snails in a predominantly urban municipality of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with emphasis on human parasites vectors

ABSTRACT Many snail species act as intermediate hosts of helminths that transmit diseases to humans and animals, such as schistosomiasis and angiostrongyliasis. São Gonçalo, a mostly urban municipality in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, has undergone fundamental environmental impacts, which favor the establishment of a range of diseases, for which snails act as the intermediate hosts of the etiological agents. In the present study, freshwater and terrestrial snail populations were surveyed in different environments within five city districts, and the presence of helminths was determined in the...