Fish-borne parasites in the era of One Health

A special issue of Fishes (ISSN 2410-3888).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2018) | Viewed by 41376

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
1. Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
2. Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Laboratory for Aquaculture, Split, Croatia
Interests: anisakids; food-borne parasites; fish parasites; aquaculture; host-parasite interactions; probiotics in aquaculture; parasite antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fisheries represent a crucial pillar of economies and societies all over the world. Only in the EU, fisheries are a source of more than 350,000 jobs, divided among fisheries, aquaculture, and processing sectors, and a market turnover of more than 52 million Euro. Accordingly, the EU per capita consumption of fish amounts to approximately 25 kg, with a total of 13 million tons of fish and fish products consumed; although this is unequally distributed among different countries. Given a transboundary surge and adoption of new culinary trends in fish gastronomy, with a tendency to employ as few thermally-processed raw materials as possible in order to preserve beneficial traits, fish-borne parasites have gained new attention within the field. Furthermore, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has organized a panel on biological hazards to report on the risk assessment of parasites in fishery products, and many strong EU-founded scientific consortia have been working on this subject. Their aims, fully in line with the One Health initiative, are to promote an increase in the number of people who enjoy food security and have stable access to nutritious fish for their needs; to ensure bio-secure and ecologically-sustainable production of safe fish for people to eat; and to encourage accessible local markets and fair international trade in aquaculture products. Such an agenda can be tackled only if a holistic approach to parasite emergence, at the interface between animals, humans, and ecosystems, is employed.

Therefore, the interest of this Special Issue is focused on original scientific and review works on both well-known and emerging fish-borne parasites, their epidemiology in intermediate, paratenic, accidental, and final hosts, pathology, diagnosis and treatment in humans, and modelling and risk assessments for consumers. The issue also welcomes exceptional accidental case study reports, and studies focusing on shellfish as an indirect source of food-borne protozoans (Cryptosporidium, Giardia, etc.).

Dr. Ivona Mladineo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • fish-borne parasites
  • fisheries products
  • aquaculture
  • emerging parasites
  • One Health
  • epidemiology
  • risk assesment

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 2857 KiB  
Article
Viability of Anisakis spp. Larvae After Direct Exposure to Different Processing Media and Non-Thermal Processing in Anchovy Fillets
by Vida Šimat and Željka Trumbić
Fishes 2019, 4(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes4010019 - 13 Mar 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 9807
Abstract
Anisakiasis is fish-borne zoonoses caused by nematodes of the genus Anisakis, contracted by the ingestion of live L3 infective larvae through consumption of raw, undercooked or thermally unprocessed seafood products, such as carpaccio, and white marinated and dry-salted anchovies. In order to [...] Read more.
Anisakiasis is fish-borne zoonoses caused by nematodes of the genus Anisakis, contracted by the ingestion of live L3 infective larvae through consumption of raw, undercooked or thermally unprocessed seafood products, such as carpaccio, and white marinated and dry-salted anchovies. In order to maintain the organoleptic properties of the product, the freezing of fish prior to processing is often ignored, especially in households, and traditional processing methods are not sufficient to kill Anisakis larvae. In this study, we investigated the survival and resistance of Anisakis spp. larvae in different processing solutions including varying salt and sugar content, lemon juice, acetic acid, alcohol, wine, and apple vinegar. We also performed a viability test of larvae during processing in anchovy fillets. When exposed directly to different NaCl concentrations, larvae were killed after approximately three days in the strongest (35%) and 10 days in the weakest solution (5%). In lemon juice and lemon juice with added acetic acid, the survival of larvae was around 5 days. In intact alcohol vinegar, larvae were killed under less than 48 h, while in the solution with water their resistance was prolonged to almost 40 days. In fillets, larvae showed increased resistance during carpaccio and white wine vinegar marinades and only dry salting was effective in destroying Anisakis spp. larvae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fish-borne parasites in the era of One Health)
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16 pages, 1105 KiB  
Article
Prevalence and Risk of Anisakid Larvae in Fresh Fish Frequently Consumed in Spain: An Overview
by Ángela L. Debenedetti, Elena Madrid, María Trelis, Francisco J. Codes, Florimar Gil-Gómez, Sandra Sáez-Durán and Màrius V. Fuentes
Fishes 2019, 4(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes4010013 - 21 Feb 2019
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 17519
Abstract
Anisakidosis is a fish-borne zoonosis caused by parasitic nematodes of the family Anisakidae, of which the species belonging to Anisakis simplex complex are the most representative. It is considered an emerging disease in Spain. The objective of this study is to analyse the [...] Read more.
Anisakidosis is a fish-borne zoonosis caused by parasitic nematodes of the family Anisakidae, of which the species belonging to Anisakis simplex complex are the most representative. It is considered an emerging disease in Spain. The objective of this study is to analyse the presence of larvae in fish frequently consumed in Spanish supermarkets, inferring the risk of infection. In total 1,786 specimens of 9 different fish species, from two geographical origins (Atlantic and Mediterranean), acquired fresh and not eviscerated were examined for anisakid nematodes. Analysis showed that 33.7% of the samples were parasitized by Anisakis larvae. The horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) presented the highest total prevalence (66.0%), followed by the silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis) (59.5%), the mackerel (Scomber scombrus) (58.4%), the blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) (53.9%) and the European hake (Merlucius merlucius) (45.0%). In general, the prevalence was higher in Atlantic than in Mediterranean fish. In all the species analysed, a higher presence of the parasite was detected in the viscera than in the flesh, although in the most parasitized species a noteworthy prevalence and abundance was observed in the flesh. In conclusion, risk factors, like fish species and origin, should be considered by consumers, in addition of following the recommendations established by Commission Regulation (EU) No1276/2011 and the Spanish Royal Decree 1420/2006. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fish-borne parasites in the era of One Health)
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Review

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11 pages, 493 KiB  
Review
Seafood-Borne Parasitic Diseases: A “One-Health” Approach Is Needed
by Shokoofeh Shamsi
Fishes 2019, 4(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes4010009 - 9 Feb 2019
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 12860
Abstract
Global consumption of seafood is steadily increasing, as is the variety of seafood, including dishes with raw or undercooked fish, leading to an increased risk of seafood-borne parasitic diseases. To address today’s challenges to understand the biology and ecology of these parasites in [...] Read more.
Global consumption of seafood is steadily increasing, as is the variety of seafood, including dishes with raw or undercooked fish, leading to an increased risk of seafood-borne parasitic diseases. To address today’s challenges to understand the biology and ecology of these parasites in an ever-changing environment and to tackle their pathogenicity, multidisciplinary research is needed. In addition, the gap between research and stakeholders must be bridged to decrease the risk these parasites pose to public health. A “One-Health” approach to research is necessary to ensure that consumers, aquatic animals, and environmental health questions are assessed in an integrated and holistic manner, resulting in a more comprehensive understanding of the issues associated with seafood-borne parasitic diseases and potential solutions. However, when it comes to seafood-borne parasitic diseases, there is limited guidance available for a “One-Health” approach since these diseases can be less known. In this article, the focus is on parasitic diseases caused by seafood, which have been less studied even in some developed countries where seafood is popular. A brief overview of some of the seafood-borne parasitic diseases is provided followed by the significance of the awareness among various stakeholders in a country. In this article, it is argued that researchers and stakeholders are closely connected and a knowledge gap in one can result in a gap in knowledge and awareness in the other, causing an inability to accurately estimate the issues caused by these parasites. It is suggested that raising awareness, supporting research and training of all stakeholders are crucial for the prevention of seafood-borne parasitic diseases and the protection of the health of seafood consumers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fish-borne parasites in the era of One Health)
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