OCORRÊNCIA DE MOLUSCOS DO GÊNERO Biomphalaria EM PARQUES DA CIDADE DE BELO HORIZONTE, MINAS GERAIS, BRASIL

Until recently, schistosomiasis was considered the most prevalent endemic disease among populations in rural areas, especially in the northeastern and southeastern states of Brazil, and therefore classified as a “rural endemic disease.” Recent studies have shown that the epidemiology of this disease is changing by transmission in the outskirts of and even within large urban centers. The city of Belo Horizonte has 71 parks, 55 of which are open to the public. Of these 31 (43.6%) have one or more water collections. The objective of this study was to carry out a malacological survey, among the water collections in these 31 parks of Belo Horizonte. In 11 parks a total number of 551 snails of the genus Biomphalaria, intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni, were collected. In addition, specimens of the genus Drepanotrema sp, Pomacea sp, Melanoides sp, Physa sp and Lymnaea sp, the latter an intermediate host of the parasite, which causes fascioliasis, were found. All specimens of the genus Biomphalaria were negative for S. mansoni cercariae. However, considering the potential contamination of the environment with human feces containing S. mansoni eggs in combination with the presence of intermediate hosts, these findings serve as an alert for a possible installation of schistosomiasis transmission in the municipal parks of the city of Belo Horizonte.