Prevalence and Morphological Investigation of Parasitic Infection in Freshwater Fish (Nile Tilapia) from Upper Egypt
by
, , and
Salwa Mahmoud Abd-ELrahman
1,†, 
Ahmed Gareh
2,†,
Hager Ibrahem Mohamed
1,
Barakat M. Alrashdi
3,
Ahmed Kamal Dyab
4, 
Manal F. El-Khadragy
5,
Nady Khairy Elbarbary
6,
Alamira Marzouk Fouad
7,
Fatma A. El-Gohary
8,
Ehab Kotb Elmahallawy
9,*
and
Sara Abdel-Aal Mohamed
1 1
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
2
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan 24101, Egypt
3
Biology Department, College of Science, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia
4
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
5
Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
6
Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt
7
Department of Aquatic Animal Medicine and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assuit University, Assiut 71526, Egypt
8
Department of Hygiene and Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
9
Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag 82524, Egypt
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Animals 2023, 13(6), 1088; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13061088
Submission received: 5 December 2022
/
Revised: 28 February 2023
/
Accepted: 13 March 2023
/
Published: 18 March 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fish Pathology and Parasitology)
Simple Summary
Fresh water Nile tilapia can be infected by numerous parasites, which can result in high mortality and significant economic losses. The early detection of parasites and the improved control of the major risk factors related to infection are among the main approaches for controlling infection. Limited information is available on fish parasites in Upper Egypt. The present study examined the prevalence of parasitic infection among 300 fish samples collected from different markets in Assiut Governorate, Upper Egypt, using a series of detection techniques, including microscopic, parasitological, histopathological and morphometric methods. Moreover, the associations of the demographic factors with the distribution of parasitic infection in Nile tilapia were also investigated.
Abstract
Fish are a source of high-quality protein with low cholesterol, but they are susceptible to parasitic infections, which have a significant impact on aquaculture, in addition to their zoonotic potential. The present study estimated parasitic infections and evaluated the diversity of zoonotic parasites in freshwater Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Assiut Governorate, Upper Egypt. A total of 300 samples were randomly collected from the Assiut Governorate. These fish were examined for both ectoparasites and endoparasites, followed by the experimental infection of mice with encysted metacercariae (EMC) for the retrieval of the adult worms. The overall prevalence of the variable parasites was 82% (246 of 300). Both ecto- and endoparasites were detected in 41% (123 of 300) of the examined fish. The identified ectoparasites were Gyrodactylus, Dactylogrus, Cichlidogyrus, Trichodina and Icthyophthirius multifiliis, in 5%, 4%, 22%, 6% and 4% of the fish, respectively. The endoparasites were trematodes (Orientocreadium batrachoides 3%), nematodes (Contracaecum. 2%), acanthocephala (Acanthosentis tilapiae 25%) and protozoa that included Isospora and Eimeria spp., in 1% and 8% of fish, respectively. Myxobolus was detected in 2% of the examined fish. The overall prevalence of encysted metacercariae (EMC) was 95% (285 of 300), while infection with macroscopic EMC had a prevalence of 37% and microscopic EMC had a prevalence of 58%. The adult worms recovered from the experimental infections were Prohemistomum vivax and Mesostephanus spp., which belong to the family Cyathocotylidae. Collectively, these findings reflect the relatively high occurrence of parasites among the studied fish, confirming the necessity of strict measures to control infection.
