Florida county declares quarantine after African land snail sighting

A county in Florida has been placed under quarantine after a foreign gastropod arrived near one of its sandy Ft. Lauderdale beaches.

The invader is an African land snail, spotted in the Miramar area of Broward County earlier this month. This type of snail is known to be "one of the most damaging" mollusk subtypes in the world, according to Florida's agriculture officials.



The quarantine was initiated on Tuesday by the agriculture department's Division of Plant Industry after officials were able to confirm reports of the foreign gastropod, and applies to a 3.5 square mile radius in Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale.

The department said that the quarantine order will remain in effect while officials treat the surrounding area with a metaldehyde-based molluscicide, CBS News reports. The goal is to completely eradicate the pest, which can grow as long as 8 inches and is able to lay thousands of eggs at a time during procreation. 

The African land snail poses a significant threat to both humans and vegetation. The breed carries a parasite called rat lungworm that can cause meningitis in humans. It also consumes over 500 types of plants, as well as paint and stucco that causes property damage, according to the network.

Last summer, a quarantine was ordered near Tampa, Florida, in Pasco County, after a separate confirmed sighting of an African land snail. In the weeks that followed, more than 1,000 African land snails were captured.

Florida officials believe that the African land snails were brought into the US by people wanting to keep them as pets, the network reports.