Occurrence and Diversity of Helminth Parasites in Freshwater Edible Fishes of Nanded, Maharashtra, India

Freshwater fishes support diverse helminth communities whose occurrence is influenced by host biology, feeding behaviour and environmental conditions. The present study investigated the occurrence and taxonomic diversity of helminth parasites associated with two edible freshwater fishes, Channa sp. and Wallago attu, from Nanded District, Maharashtra, India. Sampling was conducted over twelve consecutive months, from February 2024 to January 2025. A total of 110 fish specimens were examined, from which 138 individual helminth parasites were recovered. The recorded parasites belonged to three major groups, namely Cestoda, Trematoda and Nematoda. The cestodes comprised Senga sp. from Channa sp. and Gangesia sp. from Wallago attu. The trematodes included Azygia sp. from Channa sp. and Isoparorchis sp. from Wallago attu. The nematodes recorded were Camallanus sp. and Procamallanus sp., associated with the examined Channa sp. and Wallago attu. The overall mean parasite burden was 1.25 parasites per examined fish. The findings provide baseline information on the helminth fauna associated with edible freshwater fishes in the Nanded region. Because host-specific infection data and parasite-wise counts were not available for the present dataset, prevalence, mean intensity, abundance and formal diversity indices were not estimated. Further investigations incorporating quantitative epidemiological data, seasonal sampling and molecular characterization are warranted to clarify the distribution and taxonomic status of the recorded helminths.