Prevalence of <i>Clinostomum tilapiae</i> metacercariae in wild Nile Tilapia, <i>Oreochromis niloticus</i>, from Dugudu Lake, Igboetiti Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

Clinostomid metacercariae are common parasites of fish in many natural and artificial aquatic systems. In aquaculture, infection by clinostomid metacercariae reduces fish quality and causes production losses resulting from the discard of infected fish. Also, clinostomid metacercariae are of zoonotic importance because man can become the final host following consumption of raw or undercooked infected fish. This study investigated the prevalence of Clinostomum tilapiae metacercariae in Oreochromis niloticus sampled from Dugudu Lake, Enugu State, Nigeria. 120 individuals were examined from February to May 2018. Sex, total length (TL) and weight of fish, as well as number of parasites were recorded. A prevalence of 64.17 % was observed with mean intensity and mean abundance values of 18.22 ± 21.92 parasites/fish and 11.69 ± 19.59 parasites/fish respectively. Abundance of parasites increased as total length of fish increased. Sites of infection include intestines, gills, skin, eyes, body cavity and heart. Findings of the present study contribute to existing knowledge on the distribution of clinostomid metacercariae in O. niloticus in Nigerian water systems. This is the first documentation of this parasite from O. niloticus in Dugudu Lake, Enugu State, Nigeria.

Keywords: Clinostomum tilapiae, Metacercariae, Oreochromis niloticus, Dugudu Lake, Prevalence