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A survey on helminth infections among Grass carp in the Mountainous region, of Pakistan

. Ateeq Ullah, Wali Khan, Sana Ullah, Shabir Ahmed & Bilal Ahmad.


Abstract

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ish is the cheapest source of high-quality proteins and its demand increasing day by day due to the explosion of population in the world. The production of fish is directly affected due to helminth parasites and indirectly affected the health of humans (Ahmad et al., 2021). Therefore, the present study was investigating the helminth parasites among grass carp in freshwater reservoirs of Lower Dir. A total of 100 fish samples were collected through a sample net and by hand. The collection was done from four freshwater reservoirs in the summer and autumn seasons of 2022 and the process was performed in four shifts. The fish specimens were dissected longitudinally through a scalper blade and scissors. The intestine was removed and incised in Petri dishes. Different species of helminth parasites were recovered and preserved in a separate closed vial containing 70% ethanol. For further identification of parasites, the Cestodes (tapeworm) were stained with borax carmine and the nematodes were directly observed in an electric microscope. Out of 100 fish samples, 60% (n=60) were found to be infected with helminth parasites. The species-wise prevalence of helminth parasites showed 45% Cestode (i.e Bothriocephalus sp.) and 15% Nematode (i.e Rhabdochona sp.). The highest intensity was recorded for Bothriocephalus sp. (3.0). The gender-wise prevalence of helminth parasites showed higher in female fish as compared to males. The standard length and weight-wise prevalence of helminth parasites were recorded higher in fishes with maximum length and high body weight compared to small size and low body weight fish. The season-wise prevalence of helminthic worms was recorded higher in the summer season.

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