Ascaridoid nematodes infecting commercially important marine fish and squid species from Bangladesh waters in the Bay of Bengal

Miguel Bao; Paolo Cipriani; Lucilla Giulietti; Mohammad Ashraful Alam; Marialetizia Palomba; Simonetta Mattiucci; Arne Levsen

Food and Waterborne Parasitology (Jun 2022)

Ascaridoid nematodes infecting commercially important marine fish and squid species from Bangladesh waters in the Bay of Bengal

Miguel Bao,
Paolo Cipriani,
Lucilla Giulietti,
Mohammad Ashraful Alam,
Marialetizia Palomba,
Simonetta Mattiucci,
Arne Levsen

Affiliations

Miguel Bao: Section of Contaminants and Biohazards, Institute of Marine Research (IMR), PO Box 1870, Nordnes, N-5817 Bergen, Norway; Corresponding author.
Paolo Cipriani: Section of Contaminants and Biohazards, Institute of Marine Research (IMR), PO Box 1870, Nordnes, N-5817 Bergen, Norway; Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Section of Parasitology, “Sapienza-University of Rome”, Rome, Italy
Lucilla Giulietti: Section of Contaminants and Biohazards, Institute of Marine Research (IMR), PO Box 1870, Nordnes, N-5817 Bergen, Norway
Mohammad Ashraful Alam: Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Riverine Station, Chandp ur-3602, Bangladesh
Marialetizia Palomba: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Section of Parasitology, “Sapienza-University of Rome”, Rome, Italy; Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale 1, 80121 Naples, Italy
Simonetta Mattiucci: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Section of Parasitology, “Sapienza-University of Rome”, Rome, Italy
Arne Levsen: Section of Contaminants and Biohazards, Institute of Marine Research (IMR), PO Box 1870, Nordnes, N-5817 Bergen, Norway

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 27
p. e00157

Abstract

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Parasitic ascaridoid nematodes occur in a wide range of marine organisms across the globe. Some species of the anisakid family (Ascaridoidea: Anisakidae) can cause gastrointestinal disease in humans (i. e. anisakidosis). Despite their importance as potentially hazardous parasites, the occurrence and infection characteristics of ascaridoids are still poorly known from many host species and geographical areas. This study investigated the diversity and infection levels of ascaridoid parasites in various commercial fish and squid host species off Bangladesh. Fish and squid specimens were visually inspected for nematodes using the UV-press method. Nematodes were assigned to genus level based on morphology and identified by sequence analyses of the entire ITS region and partial 28S rDNA and mtDNA cox2 genes. Third-stage larvae (L3) of Anisakis typica occurred at low prevalence (P = 10% and 8%, respectively) in the viscera of Selar crumenophthalmus and Trichiurus lepturus, while Hysterothylacium amoyense occurred in the viscera of Sardinella fimbriata (P = 1%) and the viscera and muscle of Harpadon nehereus (P = 32%) and T. lepturus (P = 76%). Lappetascaris sp. Type A L3 occurred in the mantle of the squid Uroteuthis duvaucelii (P = 11%). Anisakis and Lappetascaris species, and H. amoyense were firstly identified in the Bay of Bengal. The potentially zoonotic A. typica was only found in fish viscera. Hysterothylacium amoyense and Lappetascaris sp., both generally regarded as non-zoonotic, occurred at low prevalence in the muscle or mantle of fish or squid, respectively. Since consumption of raw or lightly processed seafood seems to be rare in Bangladesh, the risk of acquiring anisakidosis from consuming fishery products from off Bangladesh appears to be low. Due to its reddish appearance, the visual presence of H. amoyense larvae in fish flesh may represent a food quality issue.

Published in Food and Waterborne Parasitology

ISSN: 2405-6766 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Infectious and parasitic diseases
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/food-and-waterborne-parasitology

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