The Greater Metropolitan Area of Belo Horizonte currently contains 18 city parks (also known as "ecological parks") with various bodies of water (lakes, springs, streams, etc). Initial research in 17 of these parks showed the occurrence of intermediate mollusk hosts for Schistosoma mansoni in at least 4. Monthly captures done from August 1994 to February 1996 showed the following results for these planorbids: Julien Rien Park: 1,145 specimens of Biomphalaria glabrata (2 to 13 mm); Betânia Park: 149 specimens of B. glabrata (4 to 13 mm); Santa Lúcia Park: 2,431 specimens of B. straminea (3 to 9 mm); and Lagoa do Nado Park: 3 specimens of B. tenagophila (3 to 10 mm). Visits to the parks will continue, and after a diagnosis of each park's situation, control and/or eradication measures suitable for each one will be proposed to the municipal authorities.
Schistosomiasis; City Parks; Planorbidae; Biomphalaria; Epidemiology
