SEASONAL VARIATIONS, PREVALENCE AND INTENSITY OF HELMINTH PARASITES OF SOME FRESHWATER FISH IN ISMAILIA CANAL, EGYPT

The present study was conducted to investigate the parasitic infection of 120 samples of three freshwater fish species collected from Ismailia Canal, branch of the River Nile, Northern Cairo, Egypt. The African catfish Clarias gariepinus, the silver catfish Bagrus bajad and the Nile perch Lates niloticus (each species 40 specimens) were studied parasitologically during the whole year of 2017. The results revealed that (47.5%) of all samples were infected with helminthes. Six helminth species were recorded; One trematode Orientocreadium batrachoides Tubangui, 1931, one cestode Polyonchobothrium clarias Woodland, 1925, three nematodes; Procamallanus sp., Capillaria sp. and Philonema onchorhynchi Kuitunen-Ekbaum, 1933 and one anthocephalan Polymorphus sp. The examination of hosts indicated that C. gariepinus had the highest infection rate (55%) followed by (45%) and (42.5%) for L. niloticus and B. bajad respectively. Intensity (I), infection index (IX) and the condition factor (K) of the infected hosts were determined. The relationship between the infection and host's sex and size (weight and length) was detected and discussed. Also, a special reference
to the effect of seasonal variations on the abundance of infection was estimated. Results were analyzed using SPSS 0.16 for Windows.