Prevalence of fish-borne zoonotic parasites and their molecular identification in Bhola district of Bangladesh

. Fish-borne zoonotic parasites are a rapidly increasing health hazards for human in all over the world. There is a scarcity of information on the fish-borne zoonotic parasite infection in Bangladesh. The present study was aimed to investigate fish-borne helminth parasites in Bhola district. A total of 300 fresh fish samples were collected randomly from different local markets of Bhola district and transported to the laboratory of the Department of Parasitology, BAU. Fishes were homogenized and digested with pepsin-HCl solution for overnight and washed with NaCl solution for 8-9 times and then sediment was examined under a microscope to detect the presence of metacercariae/metacestode. Fishes were found to be infected with multiple infective stages of helminth parasites such as Opisthorchis sp., Clonorchis sp., Diphyllobothrium sp., Metagonimus sp. and Metorchis sp. In this study, 58% overall prevalence of fish-borne zoonotic parasites was recorded. About 80% metacercariae was found in Loitta (Harpadon nehereus) followed by 65% in Spotted snakehead (Channa punctata), 60% in Tilapia (Oreochromis nilolticus), 45% in Stinging catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis) and 24.28% in Indian carplet (Amblypharyngodon microlepis). The plerocercoid of Diphyllobothrium sp. were identified morphologically and was confirmed molecularly by PCR. This study indicates that fish-borne helminth parasites may pose a significant public health risk to the people of Bhola district.