Genera and Species of the Anisakidae Family and Their Geographical Distribution

Abstract

Nematodes of the Anisakidae family have the ability to infest a wide variety of aquatic hosts during the development of their larval stages, mainly marine mammals, aquatic birds, such as pelicans, and freshwater fish, such crucian carp, these being the hosts where the life cycle is completed. The participation of intermediate hosts such as cephalopods, shrimp, crustaceans and marine fish, is an important part of this cycle. Due to morphological changes and updates to the genetic information of the different members of the family, the purpose of this review was to carry out a bibliographic search of the genus and species of the Anisakidae family identified by molecular tests, as well as the geographical area in which they were collected. The Anisakidae family is made up of eight different parasitic genera and 46 different species. Those of clinical importance to human health are highlighted: Anisakis pegreffi, A. simplexsensu stricto, Contracaecumosculatum, Pseudoterranova azarazi, P. cattani, P. decipiens and P. krabbei. The geographical distribution of these genera and species is located mainly in the European continent, Asia and South America, as well as in North and Central America and Australia. Based on the information collected from the Anisakidae family, it was determined that the geographical distribution is affected by different environmental factors, the host and the ability of the parasite itself to adapt. Its ability to adapt to the human organism has led to it being considered as a zoonotic agent. The disease in humans manifests nonspecifically, however the consumption of raw or semi-raw seafood is crucial information to link the presentation of the parasite with the disease. The use of morphological and molecular tests is of utmost importance for the correct diagnosis of the genus and species of the Anisakidae family.

Checklist of nematodes parasitizing fish in the Brazilian Amazon

“…Anisakidae, the largest family of nematodes, displaying zoonotic importance, currently represented by 46 species worldwide (Ángeles-Hernández et al, 2020), presents 23 fish parasitic species reported in Brazil, five of them in the Amazon region (Luque et al, 2011). A record of Anisakis sp.…”

Distribution of Anisakidae Family Infected Marine Fish in Indonesia

“…Anisakidae is a family of nematode worms that are zoonotic and can infest a variety of aquatic biota during the development of their larvae, including marine mammals, pelicans, cephalopods, renic shrimp and sea fish. (Ángeles-Hernández et al, 2020;Guan et al, 2021). The dominant predilection of Anisakidae is in the viscera body cavity of the host and is minorly in the muscles of fish (Piras et al, 2014).…”

“…The existence of differences in the character of these waters cannot be used as a specific determining factor in the distribution of Anisakidae. They were considering that species of marine fish infected with Anisakidae are very diverse and come from various habitats, and the discovery of various aquatic biota infected with adult and larval Anisakidae (Bilska et al, 2015;Kuhn et al, 2016;Ángeles-Hernández et al, 2020;Siagian and Maryanti, 2020). However, through research conducted by Guan et al (2021), the temperature has a significant role in influencing the movement of larvae of Anisakis and Pseudoterranova.…”

Intraspecific Genetic Variation of Anisakis typica in Indian Mackerel Caught from the Gulf of Thailand, Samut Songkhram Province

“…The distribution of Anisakis spp. is related to several factors, such as global warming, oceanographic conditions, water circulation, salinity percentages, and host density and migration [ 7 ]. Additionally, several species of marine fish can serve as intermediate or paratenic hosts for Anisakis spp., with the L3 encyst residing in internal tissues awaiting ingestion by marine mammals (definitive host) or humans (accidental host) [ 8 ].…”

“…The parasitic nematodes in the Anisakidae family are very similar and are known as the complex parasitic group that is difficult to distinguish by morphological techniques. Consequently, the most accurate methods of identifying Anisakis parasites are the molecular biological methods, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR), polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism, and next-generation sequencing [ 7 ]. Presently, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA (ITS-1, 5.8S rRNA gene, and ITS-2) and the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) gene are considered and recognized as molecular markers for species identification and genetic variation of anisakid nematodes [ 2 , 7 , 14 , 16 ].…”