Sanitary diagnosis in different snail breeding places in Colombia: main pathogen agents affecting the snail Helix aspersa (O.F. Muller, 1774) in every phase of its biological process

Abstract

The snail culture is an activity that requires of investigative processes for his optimal development. In Colombia the advances documented on the subject are almost inexistent. Therefore, it is responsibility of the veterinary doctor to create studies that generate a real knowledge on topics as the disease prevention within the snail breeding place. This investigation tries to make a sanitary diagnosis in each phase of the biological cycle of the snail Helix aspersa (O.F. Muller, 1774) bred in captivity. It also determines how different environmental factors (temperature, humidity, altitude above sea level, etc.), and different forms of handling can be or no implied in the presentation of any disease. Thus, it identifies and classifies the main pathogenic agents of the land Helix snails in different environmental conditions of regions appropriate for the snail culture in Colombia. This study also makes an analysis of nonparametric observations studies, by observing particular pathological cases, exposed or not, to different risk factors. They measure the prevalence of every disease after applying a survey epidemiologist of risks, determining the pathologies related to the presented symptomatology and carrying out a microbiological isolation of the main contained pathogenic agents in each snail breeding place. The most significant pathologies will be documented inside the snail breeding place, based on the analysis of results through associations, and the rates of incidence for each disease, the presented relative risk, and the main factors of risk will be determined. Finally, with suitable breeding practices established after this study, we can foresee the presence of these alterations in the production of the snail in Colombia.