Assessment of Gastrointestinal Metazoan Parasites of Clarias anguillaris (Linnaeus, 1758) in Three Urban and Two Peri-urban Reservoirs in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Clarias anguillaris, one of the widely distributed freshwater fish in West African fisheries represents a potential host for many parasites. The present study assessed diversity, prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal metazoan parasites of clarias anguillaris in three urban and two peri-urban reservoirs in Burkina Faso. A total of 188 fish individuals were examined between June 2023 and March 2024. A total of 243 gastrointestinal parasites were collected and two groups were identified : Cestoda (84.36%) and Nematoda (15.64%). Seven parasite species were identified, including four cestodes (Monobotrioides sp., Monobotrioides cunningtoni, Lytocestoides sp., Tetracampos ciliotheca) and three Nematoda (Paracamallanus cyatopharynx, Spirocamallanus spiralis, and Contracaecum sp.). The cestode Monobotrioides sp. was the most frequent and abundant species and showed a wide spatial distribution. The overall prevalence of infection was 19.15%. This prevalence showed significant spatial variation among sampling sites P=0.000<0.05). Fish from Naba Zana reservoir exhibited the highest prevalence, followed by those from Loumbila reservoir, whereas no infection was recorded in Boulmiougou reservoir and Tanghin reservoir n°2. These results indicate that peri-urban reservoirs support higher parasite diversity and prevalence, likely due to more favorable ecological conditions for intermediate hosts. In contrast, urban reservoirs appear to limit parasite transmission. This suggests the influence of local ecological conditions on the structure of parasite communities and points fish parasites as a potential candidate to consider for aquatic ecosystem monitoring.