PARASITES FOUND IN FRESHWATER FISHES SOLD AT MIDSAYAP PUBLIC

MARKET,MIDSAYAP, COTABATO

JUDY ANN D. JUANEZA

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE OF

ARTS AND SCIENCES, SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE, MIDSAYAP, COTABATO
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

BACHELOR OF ARTS
(BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE)

DECEMBER 2017
 CHAPTER 1
PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Fish provides more than one billion poor people with most of their daily animal protein.

Fish provides nutrients and micronutrients that are essential to cognitive and physical

development especially in children, and are important part of a healthy diet.It is estimated that

freshwater fishes make up more than 6% of the world’s annual animal protein supplies for

humans (FAO, 2007). In Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines freshwater fishes comprise

50% of animal protein intake. It is the major and often the only source of animal protein for low

income families.As an affordable animal source of protein in some of the poorest countries, fish

is the primary source of nutrition, creating growing demand for this staple.However, fish

supplies are failing to meet demand and there are major shortages in some critically poor

countries where they needed most. Today, there is a growing concern that our seemingly never

ending supply of fish is decreasing. (Densmore,2007)

Parasites in fish have been a great concern since they often produce disease conditions in

fish which will lead reduced growth, increase in the fishes’ susceptibility to other diseases as

well as fish loss (Ansari, 2012).These are sometimes obvious but more often are difficult to

detect other than by specialist techniques and usually appear to have little effect on the host

fish.However, in times of stress, resistance of fish is often lowered and some parasites may

greatly increase in abundance and affect the health of the fish. (Ashburner, L. D. 1973).

In this situation fish will often lose condition, making them more susceptible to

predation, or may even die from the effects of the parasites. Fish which are injured in some way,

such as after an attack by a predator, may carry a wound which is then infected by a parasite. The
effects of parasitism in fish vary from mild to severe depending upon the intensity of worm

burden and pathogenicity of the causal agent affecting the fish. As a result, there is a great threat

to the fish industry causing a fall in production and fish infected by some parasites could be

unsuitable for human consumption. (USM R & D 2009).

Statement of the problem

This study aims to determine the parasites in freshwater fishes sold at Midsayap public

market and the prevalence of common parasites in freshwater. Specifically, it sought answer to

the following questions:

1. Do these parasites can harm consumer’s growth and development?

2. Do the invasion of parasites affect fishes health?

Objectives of the study

Generally, the objectives of this study is to determine the parasites found in freshwater

fishes sold at Midsayap public market. Specifically, this study aim to:

1. Identify the parasites found in freshwater fishes sold at Midsayap public market,

Midsayap, Cotabato at the lowest possible taxonomic level.

2. Determine the prevalence of parasites in freshwater fishes sold at Midsayap public

market.
 Significance of the study

The aim of this study is to detect the occurrence of parasites in fish in Midsayap province

regarding the importance of freshwater fishes population in marshes. The result of the study can

give benefits to the consumers by providing them information about the presence and possible

effects of parasites in the human’s growth and development. It can also give awareness to the

vendors to choose clean marshes as a source of their fishes to reduce the presence of parasites on

freshwater fishes. This may serve as a foundation for related studies that will be conducted by

other researchers.

Scope of Limitation

This study is limited only to determine the prevalence of common parasites in freshwater

fishes sold at Midsayap public market. The study will be conducted in the Microbiology

Laboratory of Southern Christian College, Midsayap, Cotabato during the second semester of

school year 2017-2018.

 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter contains reviews of literature and studies on parasites. It also presents

literature of the test organisms and the method used in studies similar to this. The concept

framework and the definition of terms are also presented in this section.

Freshwater Fish Parasites

Several studies have revealed rich parasitic fauna in freshwater fishes(Onyia,1970;

Kennedy et al., 1986; Ugwuzor, 1987; Onwuliri and Mgbemena, 1987; FAO, 1996; Kadlec et al.,

2003) ranging from ectoparasites (Fryer, 1968, 1970; Sakiti et al., 1999; Oniye et al., 2004) to

endoparasites (Basu et al., 1993; Umoren et al., 1998; Auta et al., 1999) which affect fish health,

growth and survival. In the survey of freshwater parasites, the economic important parasitic

groups include the microparasites; protozoans - microsporideans and myxozoans while the

macroparasites group is comprised of helminths such as monogenea and the diagenes trematodes

(flukes), cestodes (tapeworms), nematodes (roundworms) and Acanthocephala (thorny headed

worms) The arthropod parasites are represented mainly by the copepods (Marcogliese, 2002),

while the annelid parasites are the leeches.Unpleasant factors that affect native fishes include

predation, competition for food or other resources, and disruption of normal reproduction, raised

the danger of an additional threat posed by exotic fishes, i.e. the possibility that they had

introduced parasites or diseases that could affect them. Parasites in fish have been a great
concern since they often produce disease conditions in fish which will lead reduced growth,

increase in the fishes susceptibility to other diseases as well as fish loss although both

ectoparasites and endoparasites are common in fishes. Internal parasites are able to cause much

greater damage to their host than external parasites. All fish carry pathogens and parasites.

Usually this is at some cost to the fish. If the cost is sufficiently high, then the impacts can be

characterized as a disease.

Disease is a prime agent affecting fish mortality, especially when fish are young. Fish can

limit the impacts of pathogens and parasites with behavioral or biochemical means, and such fish

have reproductive advantages. Interacting factors result in low grade infection becoming fatal

diseases. In particular, things that cause stress, such as natural droughts or pollution or predators,

can precipitate outbreak of disease.

Environmental factors influencing parasitism

Parasites are pervasive and important components of ecosystem through their diverse

effect on host population dynamics, community interactions and habitat structure. Parasites

because of their need to locate and infect a host in at least one stage in their life cycle, are also

vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic environmental changes that occur within ecosystems.

Changes in parasite population sizes and community organization therefore, may act as both an

indicator of environmental changes and a driver of further changes in ecosystem structure and

function. There are times when changes in the environment (natural or anthropogenic) can

change the state of balance of the parasite between host and nature, thus resulting in disease.

These changes can be environmental such as temperature, climate, or anthropogenic such as

pollution and urbanization (Lafferty and Kuris 1999).

 Parasite effects on human health

Parasites and predators possess serious threats to humans throughout our evolutionary

history. Although the impact of predators in modern world is lower than previously, parasites

still influence morbidity and mortality of contemporary humans. It can affect both internal and

external organs of the consumers. Large parasites which are primarily worms, and small

parasites which are mainly microscopic in size and include protozoa and amoebae. Despite their

size, small parasites can be dangerous, eating the calcium linings of our bones and joints, and the

protein coating of our nerves. Small parasites function almost like bacteria, travelling through the

bloodstream to virtually any part of the body. They reproduce without laying eggs

and behave more like an infection in the body. Large parasites can usually be seen with the

naked eye and tend to remain in the digestive tract.

The larger parasites reproduce by laying eggs into the intestinal tract. Once the eggs

hatch, the young feed on the food we eat and grow into adults, repeating the process. Female

worms can release up to 200.000 eggs per day depending on their type. Secretions from parasites

into our bodies are poisons and toxins that our bodies are forced to deal with. The toxins weaken

our immune system, making our bodies more susceptible to infections of all kinds.If the four

cleansing systems of our body, namely the lungs, kidneys, skin and bowel, are pushed too far by

excessive toxins in the body, “toxic overload” occurs. If you happen to be one of those people

who drinks alcohol, smokes, eats junk food and breathes polluted air, then parasite toxins is the

last thing an already toxic body needs.( Website: http://www.elite-ideas.com)

 Effects of Parasites on Fish Health

The pathogens of interest are those commonly associated with disease(i.e.: viruses, bacteria,

nutrition, and pollution).As such, in many fish health assessments, the role of parasites on fish

health can be overlooked. Their presence is usually only a concern when they affect a fish

species of interest, or cause harmful effects to the economy or a recreational activity, or a

commercial fishery. Parasites affect fish health through mechanical, physical and reproductive

damage. These changes can reduce growth, fecundity and survival, change behavior and sexual

characteristics, and result in many other maladaptive alterations of the infected host. These

changes could have significant consequences at not only the individual level, but population

community and ecosystem levels. (Bush et al. 2001, Thomas et. Al 2005,Shikarashi and El

Matbouli 2009).

A. Mechanical damage

Fusion of gill lamellae. Many species of parasites invade the gills of fish. Grossly

visible reactions to these parasites on the fish may be noncritical and include a mild

discoloration of the gill filaments or one or two white spots. In more critical cases, the

fish may display heavy eroding, massive discolorations (often paler), numerous white

spots, and increased mucus secretion. Tissue Replacement.Parasite loads in individual

fish can often rise to such high numbers that they occupy the majority of the total area of

a specific organ. Determination of host tissue replacement by a parasite can aid

researchers evaluate the causes of fish stock depletions or decreases in immune

responses.
B. Physiological damage

Cell Proliferation. These parasites may act as causative agents for carcinogenesis

observed in fish species. This parasite induces the proliferation of epithelial cells and

initiates a hyperplastic response that reduces the surface area available for gaseous

exchange. Immunomodulation.All parasites have evolved ways to evade the host’s

immune response and host immune systems. A trade-off is established that is essential to

the survival of the parasite and provokes a state of illness in the host, which is not

necessarily lethal (Sitja-Bobadilla,2008). Immunomodulatory changes in parasite infected

fish involve both functional enhancement and suppression of different leukocyte

populations, disease resistance, secondary pathogens, and the nature of the immune

response that the pathogen evokes (Densmore et al.,2004). Detrimental

BehavioralResponses.This usually occurs with parasites that have complex lifecycles,as it

may be more difficult for them to go from one host to the next. For example, the behavior

of arthropods, the intermediate hosts of acanthocephalan parasites, may show various

changes when infested, including changes in activity, photoreaction, escape behavior,

substrate color choice, and vertical distribution (Moore, 1984;Poulin 1994; Bakker et al.

1997).

C. Reproductive damage

Parasites often influence their hosts through the diversion of resources either

directly by using up energy and nutrients or indirectly by increasing the activity of the

immune system (Wedekind,1992;Deerenberg et al.1997, Candolin and Voigt 2001).

Parasites may also change the behavior and food intake of the host (Milinski 1990,

Candolin and Voigt 2001). This causes a trade-off between the allocations of limited
 resources used in reproduction of parasitic infestations, and parasite resistance (Candolin

and Voigt2001). With unlimited resources, there may be no deleterious effect of the

parasite on the fish host, whereas the effect of the parasite may increase with a decrease

in resource availability.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 is the schematic diagram showing the relationship between variables. The

independent variables is the prevalence of parasites which will be hypothesized to effect the

dependent variables contain in the right box which is freshwater fishes,

Freshwater Fishes Prevalence of parasites

Figure 1. The independent and dependent variables of the study

 Definition of terms

Parasites an organism that lives in or on another larger organism of a different species

(the host), upon which it depends for food. Although the parasite benefits from the association,

the host is harmed.

Prevalence the degree to which something is prevalent; the percentage of a

population that is affected with a particular disease at a given time

Parasitism a relation between organisms in which one lives as a parasite on another.

 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter shows the methods of research study. It takes account of the research design,

sampling procedure, locale of the study, research instrument, data gathering, and data analysis.

Locale of the study

This study will be conducted at Midsayap,Cotabato public market fish stalls and Southern

Christian College Micro Laboratory.

Preparation of materials

The apparatus needed will be borrowed at the Microbiology Laboratory like dissecting

pans, magnifying glass, scalpel, tissue forceps and microscope will be needed for the study.

Sampling procedure

Approximately 5 freshwater fish samples will be needed to the study to easily detect the

parasites in variety of fishes that will be collected from fish stalls in Midsayap public market for

the detection of endoparasites and ectoparasites. Sampling will done depending on the

availability of fish until the total number of fish needed will be met. The samples will be placed

in a styrofoam and plastic bags with water. And the parasites collected will be preserved in

methanol and were identified using the key for parasite identification.
 Data gathering

The experimental fish will be placed in dissecting pans. The scales will be scraped and

examined with the use of magnifying glass, for the presence of parasites. The gills, intestines,

and other internal organs will also be examine for the presence of parasites. A tissue forceps is

used to expose the underlying tissue rested. A macroscopic examination is made to detect the

presence of parasites. Prevalence will be computed using the formula below.

Prevalence= Number of subjects testing positive 𝑥100

Number of Subjects investigated

Data analysis

Parasites on fresh water fishes will be examine, parasites will be describe at the scales,

intestines and gills of the fishes. For each fish species, the overall prevalence of parasitic

infection, as well as prevalence of each parasite species will be recorded.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Title Page i
Approval Sheet ii
Table of Contents iii

CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction 1
Statement of the Problem 2
Objectives of the Study 2
Scope and Limitation 3

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Freshwater Fish Parasites 4
Environmental factors Influencing Parasitism 5
Parasite Effects on Human Health 6
Effects of Parasites on Fish Health 7
Conceptual Framework 9
Definition of Terms 10

CHAPTER 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Locale of the study 11
Preparation of Materials 11
Sampling Procedure 11
Data Gathering 12
Data Analysis 12
APPENDICES
Appendix A. Budgetary Requirements

Personal Services Amount

Oral Defense Fee Php. 1,000.00

Maintenance Operating System Amount

Office Supplies (bond papers, plastic Php. 500.00

folders, pens, etc.)

Meal/Snacks Php. 500.00

Internet Surfing/Printing Php. 800.00

Binding Php. 1,000.00

Transportation & Communication Php. 500.00

Grand Total Php. 4,300.00

Prepared by:

JUDY ANN D. JUANEZA

Researcher

Approved by:

GSEL LORREN E. GADIA

Thesis Adviser
Appendix B. Research Timeframe

ACTIVITIES AND JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB
WORKS . . . . . . . . .
1.Planning and
Preparation
2.Formulation of
Chapters 1-3
2.1. Evaluation
and Editing
2.2. Application,
Proposal
Defense and
Editing
3.Research
experimentation,
Gathering of data and
analysis
4.Formulation of
Chapters 4-5
4.1. Analysis and
Interpretation of data
4.2. Editing and
Revisions of the last 2
Chapters
5. Final Editing and
Decoding
6. Application and
Final Oral Defense
6.1. Proofreading
of the whole paper
7. Book Binding
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Hassan, M. D.V.M.,M.V.Sc. (2008);

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Saha, R.K Saha, H and Das, A (2011).

Identification and Distribution of Parasites Associated with freshwater fishes in India

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Salcedo, N., Gonzaga, E, Garduque, R., Jimenea,V.& Panes,T. (2009).

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ISSN 0302-7937

FONT, W.F, 2007; Parasites of Hawaiian Stream Fishes: Sources and Impacts,
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Bhure, D.B and Nanware, S.S. 2014. Studies on prevalence of parasites and freshwater fish,
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Barber, D.B. and Hoare, D. & Krause, J. 2000. Effects of parasites on fish behavior:
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Suspara, B. 2011. The Parasites in Freshwater Fish http://www.health.

state.mn.us/divs/eh/food/pwdu/fsp/meetings/2011/411suspara.pdf

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