Survey of helminth parasites of fish in Ebonyi River at Ehaamufu, Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

Gastrointestinal helminth parasites fauna of fish from Ebonyi River was investigated from February to July 2016. Fish caught from the river were sacrificed and gastrointestinal parasites isolated. A total of 121 fish comprising (and number examined, n) Distichodus engycephalus (n = 28), Labeo senegalensis (n = 34), Auchenoglaris occidentalis (n = 14) and Synodontis clarias (n = 45) were examined out of which 78(65.0%) were infected. S. clarias had the highest prevalence of infection 37(82.2 %), followed by L. senegalensisD. engycephalus 14(50.0 %). The lowest prevalence of infection was observed in A. occidentalis 6(42.9 %). Prevalence of infection was significantly different between the fish species (χ2 = 11.713, p = 0.008). The parasites isolated were of three species, Camallanus sp., Neoechinorhynchus africanus and Acanthocephalus sp. Overall, prevalence of the three parasites were in the range 30 – 35 %. Overall, Camallanus sp. had the highest mean intensity [4.41 (3.95 – 4.89, 95% CI)]. Mean intensities of N. africanus and Acanthocephalus sp., were only slightly lower: [3.17 (2.81 – 3.48, 95% CI)] and [3.21 (2.79 – 3.66, 95% CI)] respectively. Infection was not significantly dependent on sex of fish or season of sampling (p>0.05). Helminth parasite infection prevalence is high in some fish species of Ebonyi River, Enugu State, Nigeria. This high prevalence of helminths infection may compromise productivity of the fish species infected.

Keywords: Gastrointestinal helminth, Labeo senegalensis, Auchenoglaris occidentalis, Synodontis clarias, Ebonyi River