Gnathostomosis in Fish from Tres Palos Lagoon, Guerrero, Mexico.To the Editor: Since the first two cases of human gnathostomosis in Mexico were reported in 1970 (1), [is greater than] 1,500 cases have been reported in Nayarit, Sinaloa, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Veracruz, and Tamaulipas states (2). In Acapulco, Guerrero, 98 cases have been described; the intermediate or definitive hosts in this region are unknown (3,4). During a survey of parasitic helminths helminths (hel´minths), n.pl the parasitic worms that cause disease and illness in humans such as tapeworm, pinworm, and trichinosis. They are usually transmitted via contaminated food, water, soil, or other objects. of wild vertebrates from Tres Palos Lagoon, in Guerrero, Mexico, we found Gnathostoma sp. advanced third-stage larvae Larvae, in Roman religion Larvae: see lemures. (Adv[L.sub.3]) in the skeletal muscle of several fish species. Fish were caught from March to August 1999 in Tres Palos Lagoon (16 [degrees] 41' to 16 [degrees] 50'N and 99 [degrees] 37' to 99 [degrees] 47'W), Acapulco Municipality MUNICIPALITY. The body of officers, taken collectively, belonging to a city, who are appointed to manage its affairs and defend its interests. , 25 km south of Acapulco Bay (5). Fish muscle was ground individually, compressed between glass plates, and examined with a magnifying glass magnifying glass: see microscope. magnifying glass traditional detective equipment; from its use by Sherlock Holmes. [Br. Lit.: Payton, 473] See : Sleuthing and a lamp. The infection was characterized as by Margolis et al. (6). Of nine fish species examined, five were positive for Gnathostoma Adv[L.sub.3]: Eleotridae: Dormitator latifrons Dormitator latifrons Dormitator latifrons is a species that practically lives in brackish waters during all its life. The specie is distributed from California to Ecuador living in the coastal slopes of the Pacific, the estuarine lagoons systems. ("popoyote," n = 83), Gobiomorus maculatus ("guavina," n = 66), Eleotris pictus ("alahuate," n = 22); Cichlidae: Cichlasoma trimaculatum ("charra," n = 62), and Ariidae: Cathorops caerulescens ("cuatete," n = 62). The highest prevalence and mean abundance values (number of larvae per fish) were found in E. pictus (31.81%, 0.82 [+ or -] 1.99); in the other host species values were [is less than or equal to] 7.22 and 0.072 [+ or -] 0.26, respectively. E. pictus mean abundance values differed significantly from those of the other host species (nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test, H = 27.125, 4 g.l., n = 337, p [is less than] 0.0). The intermediate host transmitting the infection to humans in Mexico had previously been identified only in the Rio Papaloapan Basin, in Veracruz and Oaxaca (7,8). The presence of Gnathostoma Adv[L.sub.3] in the muscle of fish species frequently eaten by humans in Acapulco suggests that these fish may have been the main source of infection in the 98 recorded cases of gnathostomosis (3,4). The popularity of "ceviche ce·vi·che or se·vi·che n. Raw fish marinated in lime or lemon juice with olive oil and spices and served as an appetizer. [American Spanish, from Spanish cebiche, fish stew, from " (raw fish marinated in lime juice), prepared with the most commonly caught fish (including the three species of eleotrids studied), strongly supports this possibility. The identification of the source of human infection allows local health authorities to implement public information campaigns about the risk of eating raw or undercooked fish (in the form of sushi or ceviche) in this region. After this initial step in the study of this parasitic disease A parasitic disease is an infectious disease caused or transmitted by a parasite. Many parasites do not cause disease per se. Parasitic diseases can affect practically all living organisms, from plants to man. The study of parasitic diseases is called by parasitology. , the worm species must be accurately identified. In addition, understanding the parasite's life cycle is important for control of a parasitic disease. Acknowledgments We thank F. Bertoni, E. Martinez, C. Castilla, A. Monet, E. Cabrera, and B. Mendoza for their help in field collections. This study was supported by project PAPIIT-UNAM IN219198 to VL-R. References (1.) Pelaez D, Perez-Reyes R. Gnatostomiasis humana en America. Rev Latinoam Microbiol 1970;12:83-91. (2.) Lamothe AR, Osorio SD. Estado actual de la gnatostomiasis en Mexico. Anales del Instituto de Biologia de la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Serie Zoologia 1998;69:23-37. (3.) Rojas-Molina N, Pedraza-Sanchez S, Torres-Bibiano B, Meza-Martinez H, Escobar-Gutierrez A. Gnathostomosis, an emerging disease in Acapulco, Mexico. Emerg Infect Dis 1999;5:264-6. (4.) Vargas OF, Alarcon RE, Alvarado AFJ AFJ - April Fool's Joke . Human gnathostomiasis in Mexico. Int J Dermatol 1998;37:433-53. (5.) Diego P, Lozada L. Estudios floristicos de Guerrero No. 3. Laguna de Tres Palos. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Mexico, D.F., 1994. p. 29. (6.) Margolis L, Esch GW, Holmes JC, Kuris AM, Schad GA. The use of ecological terms in parasitology Parasitology The scientific study of parasites and of parasitism. Parasitism is a subdivision of symbiosis and is defined as an intimate association between an organism (parasite) and another, larger species of organism (host) upon which the parasite is (Report of an ad hoc committee ad hoc committee A committee formed with the purpose of addressing a specific issue or issues, which theoretically is disbanded once its raison d'etre is finished of the American Society of Parasitologists). J Parasitol 1982;68:131-3. (7.) Almeyda AJ. Hallazgo de Gnathostoma binucleatum n. sp. (Nematoda: Spirurida) en felinos silvestres y el papel de peces dulceacuicolas y oligohalinos como vectores de la gnathostomiasis humana en la cuenca baja del Rio Del Rio (rē`ō), city (1990 pop. 30,705), seat of Val Verde co., W Tex., on the Rio Grande opposite Ciudad Acuña, Mexico; founded 1868, inc. 1911. Papaloapan, Oaxaca-Veracruz, Mexico. Anales del Instituto de Ciencias del Mar Del Mar is the name of several places in the United States of America:
(8.) Lamothe-Argumedo R, Medina-Vences R, Lopez-Jimenez S, Garcia-Prieto L. Hallazgo de la forma infectiva de Gnathostoma sp., en peces de Temascal, Oaxaca, Mexico. Anales del Instituto de Biologia de la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Serie Zoologia 1989;60:311-20. Virginia Leon-Regagnon, Luis Garcia-Prieto, David Osorio-Sarabia, and Agustin Jimenez-Ruiz Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico D.F., Mexico |
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