Occurrence of zoonotic parasites in economically important fish species from the Northeastern region of Brazil

Torres, Noemi de Castro; Rosa, Brenda Madruga; Oliveira, Sarah Leticia Paiva; Moraes, Bruna Mesquita de; Lins, Beatriz Menezes; Azevedo, Rodney Kozlowiski de; Abdallah, Vanessa Doro

doi:10.1590/S1984-29612026034

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Original article • Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet. 35 (3) • 2026 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-29612026034 linkcopy

Occurrence of zoonotic parasites in economically important fish species from the Northeastern region of Brazil

Ocorrência de parasitos zoonóticos em espécies de peixes economicamente importantes da região Nordeste do Brasil

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

This study aimed to identify and analyze zoonotic parasites found in Scomberomorus cavalla and Trichiurus lepturus collected from the Mundaú-Manguaba Estuarine Lagoon Complex (CELMM), considering their commercial relevance and the associated risks to food safety and public health. A total of 34 fish were obtained from local fishermen, including 30 T. lepturus and four S. cavalla. The fish were necropsied and their internal organs were examined to identify parasites. Prevalence, abundance, and mean intensity of parasitic infections were calculated. In T. lepturus, the most prevalent (20%) nematode was Contracaecum sp., predominantly found in the coelomic cavity. In S. cavalla, the most frequently observed one (100% prevalence) was Hysterothylacium sp., with infections disseminated in the stomach, intestine, liver, and coelomic cavity. All identified parasites were documented for the first time in fish collected from this estuarine complex, CELMM, in Brazil, expanding their known geographical and ecological distribution. The presence of zoonotic parasites in commercially sold fish from CELMM poses a significant public health risk. Therefore, stringent sanitary inspection measures and public awareness initiatives are essential to mitigate contamination risks and ensure the quality of fish products intended for human consumption.

Keywords:
Public health; fish consumption; nematodes

Parasites	Prevalence (%)	Average intensity	Average abundance	Site of infection	Local
Anisakissp.	-	-	-	Mesentery	Rio de Janeiro (Oliveira da Silva et al., 2000a)
Anisakis sp.	12.70	1.10±0.30	0.10±0.40	-	Rio de Janeiro (Oliveira da Silva et al., 2000b)
Anisakis sp.	88.30	171.12± 343.40	151.20± 327.30	Mesentery	Rio de Janeiro (Carvalho & Luque, 2011)
Anisakis sp.	45.83	-	-	Oral cavity, mesentery, gastrointestinal tract, liver and gonads	Indonesia (Setyobudi et al., 2011)
Anisakissp.	3.00	1.00	0.03	Gonads	Alagoas *
Anisakis typica	20.31	-	-	Cavity and mesentery	Rio de Janeiro (Borges et al., 2012)
Anisakis simplex	59.04/ 10.95	-	-	Cavity/ Musculature	Morocco (Youssir et al., 2017)
Contracaecumsp.	-	-	-	Mesentery	Rio de Janeiro (Oliveira da Silva et al., 2000a)
Contracaecumsp.	91	67.60±73.30	61.40±72.50	-	Rio de Janeiro (Oliveira da Silva et al., 2000b)
Contracaecum sp.	20.00	1.57	0.36	Stomach/ Cavity/ Gonads	Alagoas *
Contracaecum verrucosum	100.00	213.67	213.67	Integument, gills and stomach	Rio Grande do Norte (Cavalcanti et al., 2012)
Hysterothylacium sp.	-	-	-	Mesentery	Rio de Janeiro (Oliveira da Silva et al., 2000a)
Hysterothylacium sp.	3.60	1.50±0.70	<0.10	-	Rio de Janeiro (Oliveira da Silva et al., 2000b)
Hysterothylacium sp.	51.56	-	-	Cavity and mesentery	Rio de Janeiro (Borges et al., 2012)
Hysterothylaciumsp.	33.33	1	0.33	Intestine	Rio Grande do Norte (Cavalcanti et al., 2012)
Hysterothylaciumsp.	3.00	1.00	0.03	Cavity	Alagoas *
Raphidascarissp.	-	-	-	Mesentery	Rio de Janeiro (Oliveira da Silva et al., 2000a)
Raphidascarissp.	23.60	2±2.20	0.50±1.30	-	Rio de Janeiro (Oliveira da Silva et al., 2000b)
Raphidascarissp.	6.00	1.00	0.06	Cavity/ Stomach	Alagoas*

Parasites	Prevalence (%)	Average intensity	Average abundance	Site of infection	Local
Anisakissp.	1.00	2.0	0.02	Serosa of the stomach	Rio de Janeiro (Dias et al., 2011)
Contracaecumsp.	16.0	3.25	0.86	Mesentery	Rio de Janeiro (Dias et al., 2011)
Hysterothylacium fortalezae	-	-	-	Stomach, small intestine and large intestine	Ceará (Klein, 1973)
Hysterothylacium sp.	100.00	3.81	3.81	Stomach/ Intestine /Liver	Alagoas*
Raphidascarissp.	25.00	2.50	0.93	Cavity	Alagoas*
Terranova trichiuri	-	-	-	Stomach and gonads	Ceará (Klein, 1973)
Terranovasp.	50.00	4.00	2.50	Stomach/ Intestine/ Liver/ Cavity	Alagoas*

location_on

Colégio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinária FCAV/UNESP - Departamento de Patologia Veterinária, Via de acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, Zona Rural, , 14884-900 Jaboticabal - SP, Brasil, Fone: (16) 3209-7100 RAMAL 7934 - Jaboticabal - SP - Brazil
E-mail: cbpv_rbpv.fcav@unesp.br

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