Contracaecum multipapillatum (Nematoda: Anisakidae) en peces de aguas continentales de Guanacaste, Costa Rica e Izabal, Guatemala

Contracaecum multipapillatum infects fish as intermediate hosts and humans as accidental hosts when consuming raw or semi-cooked fish meat, causing Contracecosis. This risk to human health makes important to determine prevalence, infection intensity and anatomical location in fish for human consumption through artisanal fishing; and the physicochemical parameters influence of water on infection in fish. 214 fish were collected in 6 rivers from Canas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica and 203 fish in Izabal Lake and Rio Dulce, Izabal, Guatemala. Water physicochemical parameters (temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen) were taken at fishing sites. The infection prevalence was 16.8% and 25.1% in Guanacaste and Izabal, respectively, 36 fish were found infected with 105 larvae of the third stage (L3) in Guanacaste and 135 larvae were found in 51 infected fish in Izabal. A higher affinity of L3 was observed in visceral organs (22.4% in Guanacaste - 25.1% in Izabal) and lower affinity in muscle tissue (2.0% in Guanacaste – 1.0% in Izabal). Infection intensity was proportional to the size and weight fish (1 larva in 13 fish with average weight and size of 66.7 g and 17.5 cm in Guanacaste, and in 7 fish with weight and average size of 214.9 g and 28.4 cm in Izabal; while 14 larvae were found in a fish of 148.8 g and 24 cm in Guanacaste and 12 larvae in a fish of 260g and 40 cm in Izabal). No association was observed between the water physicochemical parameters and the fish susceptibility to infection.