Anisakis pegreffii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus from the Mediterranean Sea: Fishing ground as a predictor of parasite distribution

The levels of infection with A. pegreffii significantly varied between the selected fishing areas. Fish from the Central and South Adriatic Sea showed the highest levels of infection. In contrast, anchovies from Southern Sicily, Ionian and Alboran Seas, were uninfected. A great majority of A. pegreffii larvae (95.8%) were located in the body cavity, whereas only a small percentage of them (4.2%) were detected in the flesh of the fish. A significant positive correlation between fish length and abundance of A. pegreffii was observed. The fish body condition index and infection levels observed in different sampling areas did not correlate significantly. The infection levels by H. aduncum also showed a significantly uneven distribution between different fishing areas of the Mediterranean Sea, and no larval specimens of H. aduncum were detected in examined fish flesh. This study is the first Mediterranean-wide epidemiological assessment of infection in the viscera and flesh of E. encrasicolus by A. pegreffii, an important causative agent of human anisakiasis.