Trypanorhyncha cestodes parasites of guaivira important in seafood hygiene

Abstract

Fish belonging to Oligoplites genus are found along the Americas' Atlantic coast. Cestodes belonging to the Trypanorhyncha order, although not possessing zoonotic character, can provide repulsive aspect to seafood; studies have shown that these cestodes may lead antibody responses when ingested. This study aimed to search cestodes belonging to the Trypanorhyncha order with importance in fish inspection, infesting the commercial fish named "guaivira", which comprises three species: Oligoplites saurus; O. palometa; O. saliens; they were marketed in the cities of Niterói (Rio de Janeiro State) and Ubatuba (São Paulo State), Brazil. Necropsies were performed in 56 specimens of this fish and parasites’ larvae were collected. Among the studied fish, 19 (33.9%) fish were infested by cestodes larvae belonging to the Trypanorhyncha order. In total, 47 plerocerci belonging to the Pterobothrium crassicolle species were collected, having the mesentery and serosa of the intestine as infection sites. This is the first record of Pterobothrium crassicolle infesting O. saurus. It was concluded that the Oligoplites saurus is an intermediate host of Pterobothrium crassicolle.