First evidence of the presence of Anisakis simplexin Crangon crangonand Contracaecum osculatumin Gammarussp. byin situexamination of the stomach contents of cod ( Gadus morhua) from the southern Baltic Sea

• Published in: Parasitology
• Main Authors: Pawlak, Joanna, Nadolna-Ałtyn, Katarzyna, Szostakowska, Beata, Pachur, Marzenna, Bańkowska, Anna, Podolska, Magdalena
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2019
• Subjects: Gadus morhua
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182019001124; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0031182019001124

Abstract Cod ( Gadus morhua ), an important fish species in the Baltic Sea, is the paratenic host for many parasite species, including the zoonotic nematodes, Anisakis sp. and Contracaecum osculatum . We aimed to identify which invertebrate species (found in situ in the fish stomach) are responsible for infection of cod with zoonotic nematodes. We found that Crangon crangon and Gammarus sp., both invertebrate prey species of cod, were infected with Anisakis simplex and C . osculatum , respectively. These host–parasite systems are reported here for the first time, implicating C . crangon and Gammarus sp. as sources of infection of Baltic cod with zoonotic nematodes.