Anisakidae nematodes and Trypanorhyncha cestodes of hygienic importance infecting the king mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla (Osteichthyes: Scombridae) in Brazil

Abstract

From February to October 2007, thirty specimens of the king mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalla (Cuvier, 1829) were purchased from markets in the municipalities of Niterói and Rio de Janeiro. The fishes were measured, filleted and further had their organs investigated for helminths. Ten out of the thirty fish specimens were parasitized with anisakid nematodes represented by Anisakis sp. and Contracaecum sp. with prevalence of 1% and 16%, mean intensity of 2 and 3.31 and mean abundance of 0.02 and 0.53, respectively. The infection range with Contracaecum sp. was 1–9. The sites of infection were the stomach serosa and mesentery. Seventeen fish specimens (53%) out of the 30 investigated were parasitized with Trypanorhyncha metacestodes, identified as Callitetrarhynchus gracilis, Pterobothrium crassicole, Callitetrarhynchus speciosus and Tentacularia coryphaenae in the mesentery, with prevalence of 26, 20, 6, 3%, intensity and mean intensity of 3.25, 3.5, 1, 2 and mean abundance of 0.86, 0.7, 0.06 and 0.06, respectively. The infection range due to C. gracilis and P. crassicole were of 1–5 and 1–20, respectively. Anisakis sp., C. speciosus and P. crassicole are reported in S. cavalla for the first time. Considerations on the zoonotic potential of the parasites and their rules in sanitary inspection are presented.