Abstract

Background:
An abundance of vitamins, minerals, and vital amino acids can be found in fish. The parasitic zoonotic disease anisakiasis is caused by ingesting the third larval stage of Anisakis spp., which is carried by nematodes called anisakids. Serious health problems, such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and allergic reactions that could approach anaphylactic level, are brought to the human body by ingesting undercooked fish, where this parasite is present.

Aim:
Raw herrings, smoked herrings, raw sardines, salted sardines, raw mackerel, and raw saurus, were all tested for the presence of Anisakis larvae.

Methods:
Fish samples were purchased from Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, with half of the samples from all species were collected in the spring and the other half was collected in the autumn. Parasitic examination of fish was done morphologically and confirmed using PCR.

Results:
The overall prevalence of Anisakis larvae in raw herrings, smoked herrings, raw sardine, salted sardine, raw mackerel, and raw saurus fish at 40%, 25%, 15%, 0%, 25%, and 10%, respectively. No muscle samples were found to be infested with Anisakis spp. Based on the findings, it was discovered that the fish that were sampled in spring had higher infestation rate with Anisakis larvae than that collected in autumn. The hazards associated with Anisakis larvae was further discussed.

Conclusion:
The examined fish species in the present study were found to be infested with Anisakis larvae at variable rates except for salted sardine. Therefore, efficient cooking of fish before serving to human is highly recommended.

Key words: Fish, Anisakis larvae, Egypt, Public health