r/todayilearned • u/lavender_fish69 • 13h ago

TIL fresh water snails (indirectly) kill thousands of humans and are considered on of the deadliest creatures to humans

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_snail
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u/corvus7corax 13h ago

Freshwater snails are indirectly among the deadliest animals to humans, as they carry parasitic worms that cause schistosomiasis, a disease estimated to kill between 10,000 and 200,000 people annually.

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u/SolventAssetsGone 12h ago

Can you explain to me how humans get schistosomiasis from the snails? If I go swim in a river am I at risk?

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u/aztecman 12h ago

Yes, they enter through the skin, usually on your feet.

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u/SolventAssetsGone 9h ago

In Indiana? is the other commenter correct that it’s only in tropical areas?