Parasite Species Richness of fish from Lake Baringo, Kenya

Abstract

A fish parasitological survey was carried out at Lake Baringo, Kenya from March to April 2015 to study the presence of endoparasites of four fish species. A total of 101 specimens of Oreochromis niloticus baringoensis, Protopterus aethiopicus, Barbus intermedius australis and Clarias gariepinus were examined using conventional parasitological techniques. The focus of this study was on the intestinal helminths of the systematic groups digenean trematodes, cestodes, nematodes and acanthocephalans. In addition to epidemiological parameters, as prevalence, mean intensity and abundance, parasite biodiversity was calculated. The endoparasite fauna was dominated by larval cestodes, metacercariae of digenean trematodes and larval nematodes. Digenean metacercariae of the genus Clinostomum sp. and larval nematodes of the genus Contracaecum sp. and Eustrongylides sp. were recorded, potentially representing a risk to human health. Finally, we looked at parasitic life cycles and their hosts’ habitat and diet composition, and findings were compared with parasitic data available from other lakes in East Africa.