Scientific Opinion on assessment of epidemiological data in relation to the health risks resulting from the presence of parasites in wild caught fish from fishing grounds in the Baltic Sea

Abstract

For fishery products caught from fishing grounds in the Baltic Sea, four groups of viable parasites present possible health risks, Anisakis simplex (sensu stricto), Contracaecum osculatum (sensu stricto), Pseudoterranova decipiens (sensu stricto) and Diphyllobothrium spp. Since A. simplex and Pseudoterranova decipiens have been found in fishery products in International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) subdivisions 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, public health risks due to the presence of these parasites cannot be excluded in any fishery products caught from these areas. Migrating fish from areas where A. simplex, and to a lesser degree P. decipiens, occur may carry these parasites and reach the northern Baltic, therefore, public health risks due to parasites in all migrating fish (including salmon) in Baltic Sea cannot be excluded. C. osculatum occurs in fish throughout all areas of the Baltic Sea. However, at present it is not possible to assess the public health importance of viable C. osculatum larvae in fishery products. Diphyllobothrium spp. occurs in fish species in brackish waters of Baltic Sea. Hence all freshwater fish as well as migrating fish, including sea trout and whitefish, are of public health importance if consumed raw, since they may carry viable parasites. More research is needed to elucidate the importance of C. osculatum from fish as a source of human infection, including pathogenicity of this parasite and the anatomic distribution of the parasite in edible parts of the fish. In order to definitively identify species of anisakids, genetic/molecular methods should be more widely applied to material from all hosts of the Baltic Sea. Surveillance of anisakiasis and other parasitic infections in the human population in Baltic Sea countries should be improved.

Zoonotic Anisakidae Nematodes - Emerging Pathogens in Salmon and Other Commercially Important Fish Species from Polish Marine Waters

“…Parasites, including A. simplex, C. osculatum and P. decipiens, found in fishery products represent a possible public health risk [48]. All the above species of nematode have been detected in commercially important fish species, after harvesting for human consumption in Polish marine waters.…”

Diphyllobothrium sp. and Other Parasites of Migrating and Rare Fish Species in the Southern Baltic Sea and Coastal Waters, Poland

“…Diphyllobothrium cestodes are cosmopolitan and occur mainly endemically in regions where culinary habits include the consumption of raw fish. In Poland, they have been noted in lake fish [46] and in fish in the Baltic [58]. These cestodes have also been found in foxes [46].…”

“…The severe infection of this large cod (which normally does not feed on amphipods) may be explained by the transmission of parasites from prey fish to the large predatory cod. These prey fish may include young cod [58,68]. The presence of this acanthocephalan has been noted in cod from various fishing grounds, including the Pomeranian Bay [43].…”