Prevailing parasitic diseases affecting Oreochromis aureus in Lake Burullus

Lake Burullus is an important source of fish production in Egypt; it produces 20.5% of the Egyptian fisheries' production. There is intense controversy about the heavy metal pollution in Burullus water and its effects on fish health and safety for human consumption. Heavy metals represent a major concern for aquatic life and could negatively affect fish health. Agricultural and industrial water drainage represents a considerable part of the lake water supply. The present work was conducted to determine heavy metal concentrations in lake water and blue tilapia Oreochromis aureus musculature. Water samples were collected from six locations to determine cadmium, copper, lead, zinc and iron. Sixty O. aureus fish samples were also collected from the same sampling points to assess the prevalent parasites infesting fish and to determine the heavy metal (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn and Fe) concentrations in fish musculature then study the relationship between heavy metals concentration and prevailing fish parasites. Results indicated that 53.34% of the examined fish were infested with encysted metacercaria. Centrocestus formosanus, Prohemistomum vivax, and Euclinostomum heterostomum were retrieved from gills, musculature, hepatopancreas and the posterior kidney. The parasitic intensity in fish tissues was between 1 and 9 cyst g^-1. Centrocestus formosanus was identified using the polymerase chain reaction in the gill tissues of 16 fish. The gill parasitic copepod Lamproglena monodi was identified in one fish. Degenerative changes such as thickening, corrugation, and destruction of gill filament are the most dominant pathological changes in infested fish gills. Heavy metal concentrations in water samples were at normal levels, except for copper and iron in the southern part of the lake. All heavy metals in fish musculature were below the permissible limits. The parasitic infestation was more dominant in the northern part of the lake than in the southern region; this could be due to elevated copper concentration in the southern part of the lake that could negatively affect the survival of the first intermediate host and parasite cercaria. In conclusion, captured fish from Lake Burullus were safe for human consumption, and heavy metal pollution in lake water does not represent a severe risk.