{"id":206663,"date":"2019-09-28T20:48:32","date_gmt":"2019-09-29T00:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=206663"},"modified":"2019-09-28T20:48:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-29T00:48:32","slug":"cuban-scientist-affirms-african-snail-can-be-eaten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/cuban-scientist-affirms-african-snail-can-be-eaten\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuban scientist affirms African snail can be eaten"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a time when the Giant African Snail is invading Cuba even in the midst of a <\/span>government campaign<\/span><\/a> to combat it, a Cuban scientist publicly confirmed that, despite the effects it can cause to human health, the mollusk is edible.<\/span><\/p>\n

“If it\u2019s cooked well (better in a pressure cooker) there won\u2019t be any problems. In fact, it is a dish that is eaten in Europe and South America,” <\/span>explained<\/span><\/a> Dr. Antonio V\u00e1zquez, a specialist in the Malacology Laboratory of the Vector Control Department of the Pedro Kour\u00ed Institute of Tropical Medicine in Havana, to the magazine Juventud T\u00e9cnica<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the researcher warned that eating it raw marinated in lemon juice “would cause a problem, because it could transmit the nematode that causes eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in humans.” He also alerted Cubans to be careful because on the island “there is no culture rooted in the consumption of snails.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Juventud T\u00e9cnica contacted Dr. V\u00e1zquez after the recent posting on the internet of <\/span>a video<\/span><\/a> in which a Cuban cooks and eats an African snail, which has generated numerous reactions and concerns about the possible transmission of diseases such as bronchitis and intestinal disorders due to consumption of the mollusk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given these doubts, the scientist said that the snail does not cause bronchitis nor is it toxic or poisonous, but it is a \u201charmful animal\u201d because it is \u201cthe best vector\u201d of Angiostrongylus cantonensis<\/em>, a parasite that causes eosinophilic meningitis, a dangerous disease that can even be deadly.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Its large size allows it to carry a greater number of infectious larvae, so the probability of becoming infected with it is higher,” said the specialist about this mollusk, although he said that “all cases of this type of meningitis that have occurred in Cuba have not been from the African snail, only reported in 2014.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Llega el caracol gigante africano a la zona central de Cuba<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n