Parasitic diseases of marine fishes and their impact on human health: focus on the Egyptian biosphere: A review.

Recently, food deficiency has become the most critical problem and a major global challenge. Rapid population growth requires increased food production to meet the resulting demand. High meat and chicken prices prompted the world to focus on fish production to meet ongoing food needs. Seafood is rich in vitamins, minerals, and omega-3s. Fish-borne parasitic diseases are primarily found in people in most countries, causing severe illness and death. This review article will focus on the most important parasites affecting marine fishes and the most popular parasitic diseases affecting fish globally and locally, with an overview of their effect on human health. The survey of the most effective parasitic species that could attack marine fish species found nine groups: protozoans, myxozoans, monogeneans, digeneans, cestodes, nematodes, acanthocephalans, hirudineans, and crustaceans. Each group has several species that can cause severe damage to hosts, depending on the site of parasitism, which may be external or internal. Most previous parasitic species could transfer to humans and cause severe illnesses, leading to death. Important zoonotic diseases caused by marine parasites, such as Protozoa (Amoebiasis, Giardiasis, Cryptosporidiosis, Toxoplasmosis, and Microsporidiasis), could affect humans in two ways: through fish handling or through consumption of contaminated fishmeal containing protozoal cysts. The common signs appear as severe abdominal pains combined with general weakness and weight loss. Helminths, the largest group of zoonotic parasite species, cause severe damage to their final hosts, humans. Diagnosing such infections usually involves identifying the eggs, which are considered diagnostic when released with feces. The appropriate treatment of zoonotic parasites usually depends on the parasite species; intestinal disinfectants are recommended for mild infections, while anthelmintic drugs are recommended for severe cases. Surgical ablations are necessary if the infections are uncontrolled and life-threatening.