Parasites of Blue Crab (Callinectes amnicola) in the Cross River Estuary, Nigeria

A four months study was carried out to investigate the parasites of blue crab (Callinectes amnicola) in the Cross River estuary and the possible health implications to crabs consumers. Two hundred live crabs were collected for a period of 5 months (May to September, 2012) using plastic buckets and transported to Fish Pathology Laboratory, University of Calabar for identification and examination for both ecto and endoparasites. Scrapings from cuticle, skin and gills were examined microscopically as wet mounts for ectoparasites, while squash from internal organs (muscle and gut) were examined for endoparasites. The overall prevalence of parasites was 12.38 %; parasites recovered were Trichodina and nematodes scantly distributed on the skin and gut of C. amnicola respectively. Prevalence of parasite in relation to carapace width (cm) was highest in width class 5-9.9 cm (61.54 %) followed by 10-14.9 cm (38.46 %) and 0.00 % for 15-19.9 cm. Parasites isolated were normal intestinal and gut flora of aquatic animals. It was concluded that C. amnicola from the Cross River Estuary is not infested with parasites of zoonotic importance and could be recommended for human consumption.