The specific identification of anisakid larvae from fishes from the Yellow Sea, China, using mutation scanning-coupled sequence analysis of nuclear ribosomal DNA

Abstract

Nematodes of the family Anisakidae parasitize fish, mammals, birds and reptiles, with the larval stages of some species causing severe clinical disease in humans. Therefore, the accurate identification of anisakid nematodes is a key component of disease surveillance and control. An epidemiological survey of 123 fishes comprising eight different species from the Yellow Sea in China revealed that more than 25% of fish were infected with the larvae of anisakids, 200 third-stage larvae (L3s) were collected from fish and then subjected to morphological and molecular study. Larvae identified as Anisakis type I (n=197) and Hysterothylacium sp. (n=3), based on morphological criteria were characteriz..