Abstract
Global consumption of seafood is steadily increasing, as is the variety of seafood, including dishes with raw or undercooked fish, leading to an increased risk of seafood-borne parasitic diseases. To address today’s challenges to understand the biology and ecology of these parasites in an ever-changing environment and to tackle their pathogenicity, multidisciplinary research is needed. In addition, the gap between research and stakeholders must be bridged to decrease the risk these parasites pose to public health. A “One-Health” approach to research is necessary to ensure that consumers, aquatic animals, and environmental health questions are assessed in an integrated and holistic manner, resulting in a more comprehensive understanding of the issues associated with seafood-borne parasitic diseases and potential solutions. However, when it comes to seafood-borne parasitic diseases, there is limited guidance available for a “One-Health” approach since these diseases can be less known. In this article, the focus is on parasitic diseases caused by seafood, which have been less studied even in some developed countries where seafood is popular. A brief overview of some of the seafood-borne parasitic diseases is provided followed by the significance of the awareness among various stakeholders in a country. In this article, it is argued that researchers and stakeholders are closely connected and a knowledge gap in one can result in a gap in knowledge and awareness in the other, causing an inability to accurately estimate the issues caused by these parasites. It is suggested that raising awareness, supporting research and training of all stakeholders are crucial for the prevention of seafood-borne parasitic diseases and the protection of the health of seafood consumers.
Highlights
Seafood is the primary source of protein for over a billion people and is the source of over a quarter of the world’s total animal protein [1]
This article focuses on seafood-borne parasitic diseases with the view that in the light of increased popularity of seafood as well as dramatic environmental changes, they are as important in developed countries as they are in developing countries
Zoonotic strains of Cryptosporidium have been isolated from marine fish in Australia [13] which would have to implicate seafood as a potential source of risk of this disease to fisherman, fish processing workers, and consumers
Summary
Seafood is the primary source of protein for over a billion people and is the source of over a quarter of the world’s total animal protein [1]. This article focuses on seafood-borne parasitic diseases with the view that in the light of increased popularity of seafood as well as dramatic environmental changes (both natural and anthropogenic), they are as important in developed countries as they are in developing countries. There is a view that parasitic diseases are associated with poverty [8] and they may not be as significant in developed countries. This in turn may have led to a shift of the direction of the research funding away from parasitic diseases in developed countries [9], a decline in relevant expertise [10] and massive reforms in teaching parasitology related topics in their educational sectors [11], providing opportunity for parasitic diseases to emerge. The word ‘seafood’ in this context encompasses fish and shellfish products from marine and freshwater ecosystems that directly or indirectly (as feed) are meant for human consumption (https://www.britannica.com/topic/seafood)
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