Introduced to China on 198 1. Its meat is tender and delicious, rich in protein, carotene, vitamins and minerals, and it is a delicious food on the table. Because of its low fat content, it is a high-quality tonic for patients with hypertension and coronary heart disease. In addition, it is also the feed for some precious aquatic animals. Pomacea canaliculata is large in size, wide in feeding habits, strong in adaptability, fast in growth and reproduction, and high in yield. It is cultivated all over China. Eating inadequately heated snails may cause human bodies to be infected with parasites such as Angiostrongylus cantonensis.

However, Angiostrongylus cantonensis is caused by parasitic nematodes that live in the heart and lungs of rats in the human central nervous system. Meningeal encephalitis can occur. Eating raw or incompletely heated snails can cause infection, which can cause headache, fever, stiff neck and other symptoms, and even cause dementia and even death in severe cases.

So when eating snails, you must pay attention to thorough heating. In August 2006, the popularity of Ampullaria gigas rose rapidly, almost to the point of household names. This freshwater snail has a very China name. In fact, it was just introduced from abroad 20 years ago. Of course, it is now famous not because of its name or its origin, but because it is spreading a terrible disease.

On August 2, 2006, the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau reported the case report of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in the whole city. As of 7: 00 pm on August 23rd, 87 cases of Angiostrongylus cantonensis were infected by eating cold snail meat in Beijing, and many patients recovered and were discharged.

The reporter also noted that in addition to Beijing, Ampullaria gigas is now taken as the key monitoring object in many parts of the country. It can be said that the whole country has now formed a comprehensive encirclement and suppression of Ampullaria gigas. So, what kind of disease is this so-called "Angiostrongylus cantonensis disease"? What is the relationship between this disease and Ampullaria gigas? Let's take a look at our reporter Kang Jingfeng's investigation.

Do snails really live long? In June 2006, a patient was admitted to the tropical diseases clinic of Beijing Friendship Hospital. The patient suffered from Angiostrongylus cantonensis disease because of eating the "sweet-mouthed snail meat" (cold snail meat) processed by Beijing Ampullaria gigas. Immediately, there were many cases of Angiostrongylus cantonensis caused by eating snails in Beijing. However, it was found that Angiostrongylus cantonensis in snail meat was not killed due to incomplete heating during the processing of Ampullaria gigas in Romantic Restaurant of Shu State, which led to the outbreak of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Beijing.