Abstract
A total of 257 fishes from four families, Clariidae, Cichlidae, Cyprinidae and Schilbeidae were collected from three localities: the Sand River Dam, Swaziland; the Nylsvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa and the Vaal Dam and Vaal River Barrage, South Africa. Only fishes (n= 154) from Clariidae and Cichlidae were found to be infected with trypanosomes. A total of 221 Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) were collected from the Vaal Dam and Vaal Barrage area, South Africa. Of these, 74%(89/121) were infected with trypanosomes from the Vaal Dam and 63%(63/100) from the Vaal River Barrage, with no seasonal infection pattern. A prevalence of 25%(1/4) was found in C. gariepinus from the Sand River Dam, Swaziland, and a 50% (1/2) prevalence was found in Tilapia sparrmanii from the Nylsvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa. Standard measurements conformed closely to the morphometric and morphological descriptions of Trypanosoma mukasai. This article provides new locality records for T. mukasai from the Vaal Dam, Vaal River Barrage and Nylsvlei Nature Reserve (South Africa) and the Sand River Dam (Swaziland). Tilapia sparrmanii collected in the Sand River Dam in Swaziland is also noted as a new host record.
Highlights
A total of 257 fishes from four families, Clariidae, Cichlidae, Cyprinidae and Schilbeidae were collected from three localities: the Sand River Dam, Swaziland; the Nylsvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa and the Vaal Dam and Vaal River Barrage, South Africa
According to Smit, Van As and Davies (2004), morphometrically variable haemoflagellates were found within a single host from the Okavango Delta, Botswana
Despite these findings, they concluded that all Okavango trypanosomes examined might be T. mukasai due to their nuclear indices NI 1
Summary
Notes on the occurrence of Trypanosoma sp. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in freshwater fishes from South Africa. A total of 257 fishes from four families, Clariidae, Cichlidae, Cyprinidae and Schilbeidae were collected from three localities: the Sand River Dam, Swaziland; the Nylsvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa and the Vaal Dam and Vaal River Barrage, South Africa. This article provides new locality records for T. mukasai from the Vaal Dam, Vaal River Barrage and Nylsvlei Nature Reserve (South Africa) and the Sand River Dam (Swaziland). According to Smit, Van As and Davies (2004), morphometrically variable haemoflagellates were found within a single host from the Okavango Delta, Botswana Despite these findings, they concluded that all Okavango trypanosomes examined might be T. mukasai due to their nuclear indices NI 1. Of the 26 fishes collected from the four different piscine families in the Sand River Dam, Swaziland, 25% (1/4) of C. gariepinus were infected with trypanosomes (Table 1)
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