Metacercarial Infection of Wild Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) from Brazil

Abstract

Fingerlings of Oreochromis niloticus collected in an artificial urban lake from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, were evaluated for natural infection with trematodes. Morphological taxonomic identification of four fluke species was performed in O. niloticus examined, and the total prevalence of metacercariae was 60.7% (37/61). Centrocestus formosanus, a heterophyid found in the gills, was the species with the highest prevalence and mean intensity of infection (31.1% and 3.42 (1–42), resp.), followed by the diplostomid Austrodiplostomum compactum (29.5% and 1.27 (1-2)) recovered from the eyes. Metacercariae of Drepanocephalus sp. and Ribeiroia sp., both found in the oral cavity of the fish, were verified at low prevalences (8.2% and 1.6%, resp.) and intensities of infection (only one metacercaria of each of these species per fish). These species of trematodes are reported for the first time in O. niloticus from South America. The potential of occurrence of these parasites in tilapia farming and the control strategies are briefly discussed.

Biomphalaria straminea (Mollusca: Planorbidae) as an intermediate host of Drepanocephalus spp. (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) in Brazil: a morphological and molecular study

“…Metacercariae of 27-collar-spined echinostomes identified as Drepanocephalus sp. was found in Oreochromis niloticus Linnaeus, 1758 (Pinto et al 2014) and other fish species [Po. reticulata, Australoheros facetus (Jenyns, 1842)] from the Pampulha Reservoir (HAP, unpublished data).…”

Experimental Infections of Bluegill with the Trematode Ribeiroia ondatrae (Digenea: Cathaemasiidae): Histopathology and Hematological Response

“…To date, Ribeiroia spp. have been reported in 15 species and 9 genera of fishes throughout North and Central America (updated from Johnson et al 2004) and was recently reported in South America (Pinto et al 2014). Comparatively, Ribeiroia spp.…”

“…Similar to amphibians, fish become infected when freeswimming cercariae contact and penetrate fish epithelial tissue. Previous reports describe metacercariae as localizing superficially along the cornea and other epidermal surfaces, often in depressions or grooved areas such as the periocular area, nares, and especially in the lateral line canal (Beaver 1939;Basch and Sturrock 1969;Simmons 1971;Malek 1977;Nassi 1978;Molnár 1994;Hoffman 1999;Johnson et al 2004;Pinto et al 2014). How these infections affect fish health or their ability to detect potential predators-a key role of the lateral line canal system (Barber and Wright 2005)-remain largely unknown.…”

Centrocestus formosanus (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) in Melanoides tuberculata (Gastropoda: Thiaridae) from Vila do Abraão, Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…Recently, the infection of some fish species by C. formosanus was discovered in the state of Minas Gerais (Pinto and Melo, 2012a, b;Pinto et al, 2014). Moreover, there is only one conclusive record of a bird, Butorides striata (L.), harboring this heterophyid in Brazil, (Pinto et al, 2013).…”