Occurrence of Nematodes of the Genus Anisakis in Mediterranean and Atlantic Fish Marketed in Sardinia

• Published in: Italian journal of food safety Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 6185
• Main Authors: Casti, Daniele, Scarano, Christian, Piras, Maria Cristina, Merella, Paolo, Muglia, Sonia, Piras, Francesca, Garippa, Giovanni, Spanu, Carlo, De Santis, Enrico Pietro Luigi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Italy PAGEPress Publications, Pavia, Italy 24.01.2017; PAGEPress Publications
• Subjects: Anisakis pegreffii; Anisakis simplex sensu stricto; Fishery products; Foodborne disease; Parasites; Foodborne disease; Anisakis pegreffii; Anisakis simplex sensu stricto; Fishery products; Parasites
• ISSN: 2239-7132; 2239-7132
• DOI: 10.4081/ijfs.2017.6185

Anisakiasis is a gastrointestinal fish-borne zoonosis caused by the ingestion of third stage larvae of the genus . Between January and December 2013, 1112 specimens of four commercial fish species ( , , and ) marketed in Sardinia (Italy) were examined for sp. The overall prevalence of spp larvae was 39.9%, all morphologically identified as Type I showed the highest prevalence (100%), followed by (Atlantic 91.0%, Mediterranean 71.2%), (32.7%) and (25.9%). All the larvae found in Mediterranean hosts were genetically identified as , whereas 90.0% of the larvae found in the Atlantic belonged to and 10.0% to . The mean abundance of sp. larvae was positively correlated with fish size in , Atlantic and local . The prevalence of infection was greater in the body cavity (37.9%) than in the edible muscle (9.4%). However, 1.8% of the examined fish were infected exclusively in the muscle. Therefore, the risk associated to the consumption of raw or undercooked fishery products poses the need of measures such as visual inspection and preventive treatments to guarantee consumers' health.