%0 Journal Article
%T Behavioral Responses of the Snail Lymnaea acuminata towards Photo and Chemo Attractants: A New Step in Control Program of Fasciolosis
%A Anupam Pati Tripathi
%A V. K. Singh
%A D. K. Singh
%J International Journal of Zoology
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/439276
%X Fasciolosis is water and food borne disease, caused by Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica. Snail Lymnaea acuminata is an intermediate host of these flukes. Snail control is one of the major methods to reduce the incidences of fasciolosis. Trapping of snails with the help of photo- and chemoattractants for treatment purposes will be a new tool in control program of fasciolosis. The present study shows that maximum numbers of snails were attracted (52 to 60%), when exposed to photo- and chemostimulant simultaneously, rather than when only chemo- (control) (18 to 24%) or photo- (control) (14 to 19%) stimulus was given. Maximum change in AChE activity in nervous tissue was observed when red monochromatic light was used (258.37% of white light control) as opposed to blue (243.44% of white light control) and orange (230.37% of white light control). The exposure of light directly stimulated the photoreceptors in eye which transmit the signals through nerves to the brain and snail response accordingly. In this signal transmission AChE is one of the important enzymes involved in this process. 1. Introduction The fasciolosis is considered as water and food borne disease [1, 2]. Fasciolosis and other food borne trematodiases were added to the list of important helminthiases with a great impact on human development, at the Third Global Meeting of the Partners for Parasite Control, held in WHO Headquarters, Geneva, in November 2004 [3]. Moreover, present climate and global changes appeared to increasingly affect those snail borne helminthiases, which are heavily dependent on the environment for dissemination. Fasciolosis is a good example of an emerging/reemerging parasitic disease in many countries, as a consequence of many phenomena related to both environmental changes and man-made modifications. The Lymnaeidae and Planorbidae are families of snail that serve as intermediate hosts to a large number of species of Fasciola, distributed worldwide. Lymnaeidae serves as an intermediate host of at least 71 trematode species, distributed among 13 families, with the implication for cattle and human health [4]. In Gorakhpur district of eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, a survey was conducted by Singh and Agarwal [5] which revealed that 94% buffaloes in local slaughter houses are highly infected by F. gigantica. Snail L. acuminata acts as an intermediate host for this fluke. Annual economic losses caused by this disease are estimated to be US$2 billion, due to damaged livers, reduced milk yield, fertility disorders and reduced meat production [1]. This disease affects
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijz/2013/439276/