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Anisakis spp. and valuable large pelagic fish off Eastern Adriatic – epidemiology, molecular identification and risk analysis

Nematodes of the genus Anisakis are considered an emerging public health issue due to anisakiasis, a zoonotic disease caused by consumption of raw or lightly processed infected seafood. Previous study conducted in Dalmatia, Croatia, showed high anti-Anisakis IgE seroprevalence among island population. In order to assess occurrence of Anisakis larvae in fish consumed among Dalmatian island population and possible health risks, large and valuable pelagic fish species caught off the coast of Dalmatian islands (chub macekerel, Scomber japonicus, horse mackerel, Trachurus trachurus, little tunny, Euthynnus alletteratus and atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus) were examined. UV-Press method was used to reveal the presence of larvae in visceral mass and fillets. For molecular identification a ~650 bp fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 2 (COX2) was sequenced and phylogenetic tree has been inferred using Bayesian Inference. In total 349 Anisakis larvae were isolated, while total prevalence was 64.4% (Sterne's exact 95% CI 0, 48 to 0, 77) and mean intensity 12, 03 (bootstrap 95% CI 7, 03 to 20, 55). Both values differ between species with highest prevalence observed in little tunny, while highest mean intensity was observed in chub mackerel. Molecular identification revealed A. pegreffii to be the predominant species, while only few A. simplex were identified. Although both A. pegreffii and A. simplex are capable of penetrating into fish muscle, the later has up to 12 times higher ability to migrate postmortem into fillets. Given this fact and epidemiological data collected, the risk of infection by consumption of targeted fish among Dalmatian island population is moderate.

Risk assessment; Anisakidae; Mediterranean Sea; cytochrome oxidase 2

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