Presence of parasites in fish at the local market in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara

Abstract

In México the consump­tion of raw fish represents a public health problem causing a zoonosis by nematodes. The consumption of dishes such as ceviche and little cooked dishes and / or made with raw fish such as “sushi” and sashimi “representing an accidental risk in humans. The official regulations to commercialize fish determine that no more than two parasites are allowed per kilogram and the parasitic detec­tion method is through macroscopic evaluation during the inspection. The objective of the present study was to determine the presence of para­sites in fresh fish that is consumed in the local market, by macroscop­ic examination, cysts in muscle by trasilumination, microscopic larvae by artificial digestion and freshness under normativity. Methodology: 300 samples of fish with viscera were processed, coming from Gua­dalajara, Zapopan and Tlaquepaque. Nematode larvae are identified by sensory examination of the fish. In the fillets, the presence of cysts was sought through the negatoscope and artificial digestion to search for mi­croscopic larvae. Discussion and conclusions: The results in this study show the presence of parasites in fish meat that is commercialized in the local commerce of the municipal­ities of Guadalajara, Zapopan and Tlaquepaque. The results show that in an urgent way the authorities must adopt regulatory measures to identi­fy those types of nematodes of high risk for public health, such as the ge­nus Anisakis. While it is necessary to inspect the sale of fresh fish as the regulations mark.