The occurrence of Contracaecum sp. larvae (Nematoda : Anisakidae) in the catfishClarias gariepinus (Burchell) from Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe | Zendy

Maxwell Barson | Zendy

Open Access

The occurrence of <i>Contracaecum<i/> sp. larvae (Nematoda : Anisakidae) in the catfish<i>Clarias gariepinus<i/> (Burchell) from Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe

Author(s) -

Maxwell Barson

Publication year - 2004

Publication title -

onderstepoort journal of veterinary research

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.563

H-Index - 35

eISSN - 2219-0635

pISSN - 0030-2465

DOI - 10.4102/ojvr.v71i1.283

Subject(s) - clarias gariepinus , biology , catfish , parasite hosting , anisakidae , larva , veterinary medicine , nematode , helminths , zoology , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , medicine , world wide web , computer science

Clarias gariepinus were collected from Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe, and examined for nematode parasites from November 2000 to May 2002. Of the 202 specimens collected, 42.6 % were infected with third-stage larvae of Contracaecum sp. in the body cavity. The intensity of the infection was 1-7 worms per fish (mean intensity = 2.2). Seasonal variation in the prevalence of the parasite was not obvious and there was no significant difference in the prevalence of infection between males and females (c² = 2.228; P > 0.05). No significant relationship between host size and prevalence was established. There was also no significant relationship between intensity and the body condition factor (r = 0.11; P > 0.05). The low parasite prevalence may have been caused by the disruption of the infection cycle since piscivorous birds, which are the final hosts of the parasite, do not feed on C. gariepinus in Lake Chivero.

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