A Preliminary Study on the Infection of Anisakid Larvae in Juvenile Greater Amberjack Seriola dumerili Imported from China to Japan as Mariculture Seedlings

Abstract

Juvenile greater amberjack Seriola dumerili (fork length: 39.5-43.0 cm) imported from China to Japan as mariculture seedlings were found infected with larval anisakid nematodes in the spring of 2005. The parasite was morphologically identified as Anisakis type I larva causing human anisakiasis. Based on the nucleotide sequence of ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2 region, the parasite was tentatively identified as A. pegreffii, one of the species comprising A. simplex sensu lato. The main infection site was the wall and serous membrane of the stomach. No worms were found in the ventral side of the body muscle of fish. This is the first documented case of Anisakis infection in cultured marine fishes.