Prevalence and abundance of Anisakis larvae in ready-to-eat mackerel products in Japan

Takahiro Ohnishi; Azusa Banzai; Yukiko Hara-Kudo; Hiromu Sugiyama

doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2023.110181

Prevalence and abundance of Anisakis larvae in ready-to-eat mackerel products in Japan

Int J Food Microbiol. 2023 Jun 16:395:110181. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2023.110181. Epub 2023 Mar 23.

Authors

Takahiro Ohnishi¹, Azusa Banzai², Yukiko Hara-Kudo³, Hiromu Sugiyama²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Microbiology, National Institute of Health Sciences, 3-25-26 Tonomachi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 210-9501, Japan. Electronic address: ohnisi@nihs.go.jp.
² Department of Environmental Science, School of Life and Environmental Science, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan; Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
³ Division of Microbiology, National Institute of Health Sciences, 3-25-26 Tonomachi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 210-9501, Japan.

PMID: 37001481
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2023.110181

Abstract

The risk of contracting anisakiasis from consuming ready-to-eat (RTE) mackerel products in Japan was investigated by examining the prevalence and abundance of Anisakis simplex and its sibling species in these products. From 2019 to 2021, a total of 448 RTE mackerel products were purchased in Japan. Anisakis larvae were isolated from 244 of the 448 samples (54 %), and live larvae were isolated from 161 of the 448 samples (36 %). In total, 3170 Anisakis larvae, which included 919 live larvae, were isolated. The isolated Anisakis larvae consisted of 3118 A. simplex (s. s.), 27 A. pegreffii, and 25 hybrid genotype (A. simplex [s. s.] × A. pegreffii) larvae. No A. berlandi larvae were isolated. The prevalence of larvae in samples of mackerel caught in the Southern Japan region and Sea of Japan was much lower than that in mackerel caught in other areas. Both the prevalence of Anisakis larvae in all samples and their abundance in larvae-positive samples exhibited specific seasonal variations, being high in spring.

Keywords: Anisakiasis; Food-borne disease; Parasite.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anisakiasis* / epidemiology
Anisakiasis* / veterinary
Anisakis* / genetics
Fish Diseases* / epidemiology
Fishes
Japan
Larva / genetics
Perciformes*
Prevalence