Epidemiological, morphological and molecular characterization of Anisakis simplex(sensu stricto) in Clupea harengus from Egypt.

Prevalence, morphological and molecular characterization of Anisakid larvae in smoked herring fish (Clupea harengus) from five governorates that represent Northern, Middle, and Southern Egypt which include; Menofia, Alexandrina, Qaliubiya, Sohag, and Assiut were elucidated in this study, smoked herring fish samples were collected from local markets during 2020, 384 positive (42.7%) out of 815 examined samples, the highest prevalence was observed in middle and southern Egypt (Sohag (139/230, 60.43%), and Menofiya (123/215, 57.20%), they were found to be naturally infected with Anisakis simplex larvae as free in peritoneal cavity, Based on morphological, morphometric by SEM, and molecular analyses of ITS-2 ribosomal DNA targeted gene and phylogenic analysis, these nematodes were identified as third- stage larvae of Anisakis simplex.