Infection of skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus 1758) of Oman Sea with cestode Trypanorhyncha (Diesing 1863)

Numerous reports on existence of white cysts in musculature of skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis and lack of information about the quality of cysts and individual responses of fish to them led the authors to focus on this fish as a commercially valuable species. This study investigated the histopathologic responses of skipjack tuna to highly prevalent cystic larval stages of Trypanorhyncha. Some 92.25% of 400 examined skipjack tuna of Oman Sea (Iran) captured from processing center in Chabahar have been diagnosed infected by Trypanorhyncha Larvae through gross muscle examination. Minimum of 5 to maximum of 19 cysts were observed per each flank flesh with no significant difference between number of cysts from right (9 ± 4) and left flanks (10 ± 4) and also males and females (p>.05, t- student test (spss version 16)). Using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of 4µm sections of surrounded cysts with muscle and light microscopy observations each metacestode was distinguished encapsulated by surrounding fibrous cyst wall consists of thin inner layer and a thick outer layer with the minimal histopathologic changes around it. The highly prevalent Trypanorhyncha infection in Oman Sea represents the high rate of infection among elasmobranches. The ability of encapsulated parasite to escape from the immune system of the host is assumed as one reason for the observed minimal tissue response in infected fish and the continuation of infection among elasmobranches and teleosts of Omen Sea.