Geographical distribution of Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957 (Monogenea, Gyrodactylidae)

• Published in: Parasites & Vectors
• Main Authors: Paladini, Giuseppe, Shinn, Andrew P, Taylor, Nicholas G H, Bron, James E, Hansen, Haakon
• Other Authors: DEFRA Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, Institute of Aquaculture, Benchmark Animal Health, Weymouth Laboratory, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, orcid:0000-0003-4944-0499, orcid:0000-0002-5434-2685, orcid:0000-0003-3544-0519
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central 2021
• Subjects: Monogenean; OIE; Salmonidae; Pathogen; Spread; Salmo salar; Parasite
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/32182; https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04504-5; http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/32182/1/s13071-020-04504-5.pdf

Background Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg, 1957 is an OIE (Office International des Epizooties)-listed parasitic pathogen and had until the current study been reported from 19 countries across Europe, although many of these records require confirmation. The last comprehensive evaluation regarding the distribution of G. salaris, however, was made in 2007, although some of the states identified as being G. salaris-positive were ascribed this status based on misidentifications, on partial data resulting from either morphological or molecular tests, or from records that have not been revisited since their early reporting. It is thus important to go through the reports on G. salaris to obtain a status for each country. Methods To provide a revised update of the G. salaris distribution, a literature review was necessary. This literature, however, was not always readily accessible and, in certain cases, the article only made superficial reference to the parasite without providing details or data to support the identification. In most cases, the original specimens were not deposited in a national collection. Additional Gyrodactylus material for the current study was obtained from selected salmonid populations with the aim to contribute to current understanding regarding the distribution of G. salaris. Additional parasite material collected for this study was processed following standard procedures for species identification in Gyrodactylus [1]. Results From the work conducted in the current study, G. salaris is reported from a further three regions in Italy, alongside three other species, and appears to occur extensively throughout central Italy without causing significant mortalities to its rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), host. The analysis of archive material from G. salaris-positive farms would suggest that G. salaris has been in this country since at least 2000. Material obtained from rainbow trout from Finland and Germany are confirmed as G. salaris, supporting existing data for these countries. No ...