{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T18:10:59Z","timestamp":1789150259776,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":106,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>An estimated 200 species of fishes of marine and freshwater fish are known to occur in Ethiopia. Fish parasites are the main cause of the significant threat to the fish biodiversity of Ethiopia\u2019s freshwater islands. Lake Hawassa plays a central role in the local economy of the city which supports the artisanal fishing sector. The parasite of the fishes at lake Hawassa are hitherto poorly known and there are limited reports on the type of parasites across different fish hosts such as size, age, sex, condition factor, or other biological or ecological traits.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2023\u20132024 to estimate the prevalence of fish parasites and host factors. In the current survey\n                      <jats:italic>Oreochromis niloticus<\/jats:italic>\n                      (n\u2009=\u2009135\n                      <jats:italic>)<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic>Clarias gariepinus<\/jats:italic>\n                      (n\u2009=\u200987), and\n                      <jats:italic>Labeobarbus intermedius<\/jats:italic>\n                      (n\u2009=\u200943) were sampled. Internal and external organs was inspected for the presence of the parasite affecting their health and wellbeing. Some external parasites were extracted from the fresh water immediately after fish were caught. The randomly selected host was classified based on species, sex, body weight, and the total body length. Parasites are identified morphologically at genera level using standard identification keys and pictorial guide. Analysed data were presented as frequencies, percentages, mean intensity, and mean abundance. Chi-square and P-values were considered for statistical association.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The parasite distribution varies with sex, body weight, and standard length of the studied fish. The overall infection\/infestation rate is 88.30% (n\u2009=\u2009234). A total of 1748 parasites classified under Nematodes (e.g., Contracaecum), Digenean trematodes (e.g., Clinostomum, Euclinostomum, Diplostomum, encysted metacercariae), Monogeneans (Dactylogyrus), Myxozoans (Myxobolus spp.), Crustacean ectoparasites (Argulus, Dolops), Hirudinea (leeches)was collected from\n                      <jats:italic>O. niloticus<\/jats:italic>\n                      (788),\n                      <jats:italic>C. gariepinus<\/jats:italic>\n                      (642) and\n                      <jats:italic>L. intermedius<\/jats:italic>\n                      (318). The internal parasites recovered from\n                      <jats:italic>O. niloticus<\/jats:italic>\n                      were\n                      <jats:italic>Clinostomum<\/jats:italic>\n                      (65.16%),\n                      <jats:italic>Euclinostomum<\/jats:italic>\n                      (34.07%),\n                      <jats:italic>Contracaecum<\/jats:italic>\n                      (26.67%)\n                      <jats:italic>,<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>Diplostomum<\/jats:italic>\n                      (24.44%). Higher number of\n                      <jats:italic>Myxobolus<\/jats:italic>\n                      species, leeches,\n                      <jats:italic>Argulus<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and\n                      <jats:italic>Dolops<\/jats:italic>\n                      species was also recorded.\n                      <jats:italic>Digenean encysted metacercaria<\/jats:italic>\n                      (68.97%) and\n                      <jats:italic>Contracaecum species<\/jats:italic>\n                      (50.57%) are the most common parasite species infecting\n                      <jats:italic>C. gariepinus<\/jats:italic>\n                      .\n                      <jats:italic>Diplostomum species<\/jats:italic>\n                      ,\n                      <jats:italic>Dactylogyrus species<\/jats:italic>\n                      , leeches,\n                      <jats:italic>Argulus species<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and\n                      <jats:italic>Dolops species<\/jats:italic>\n                      pose a serious threat to fish health in lake Hawassa. The mean intensity of the parasites in\n                      <jats:italic>L. intermedius<\/jats:italic>\n                      , C.\n                      <jats:italic>gariepinus<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>O<\/jats:italic>\n                      .\n                      <jats:italic>niloticus was found to be 8.59, 7.92 and 6.79<\/jats:italic>\n                      while mean abundance is 7.40, 7.37 and 5.84 respectively.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study found that various body parts are contaminated with one or more parasites. Some of those parasites have established zoonosis or cause cross infection to other fishes requiring urgent cooperation in performing pre-stock assessment for optimal production and maintaining the heath of fishery and hence human being.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0357816","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T17:45:17Z","timestamp":1789148717000},"page":"e0357816","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence of fish parasites from Lake Hawassa, Ethiopia"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6407-973X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Debela Abdeta","family":"Efa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Addis Ababa University","place":["Bishoftu, Ethiopia"],"department":["College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture"]},{"name":"Melbourne Veterinary School, Melbourne University","place":["Melbourne, Australia"],"department":["Department of Veterinary Bioscience"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Megersa","family":"Akasa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ambo University","place":["Gudar, Ethiopia"],"department":["College of Natural Resource and Agriculture"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yobsan","family":"Tamiru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wollega University","place":["Nekemte, Ethiopia"],"department":["School of Veterinary Medicine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]]},"reference":[{"issue":"59","key":"pone.0357816.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8058","DOI":"10.18697\/ajfand.59.12920","article-title":"Can integrated livestock-fish culture be a solution to East Africa\u2019s food insecurity: a review","volume":"13","author":"E Ogello","year":"2013","journal-title":"AJFAND"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0357816.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"805","DOI":"10.1007\/s12571-021-01246-9","article-title":"The contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to the global protein supply","volume":"14","author":"CE Boyd","year":"2022","journal-title":"Food Secur"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0357816.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1007\/s44187-024-00123-6","article-title":"Collective action in fishery resource management and its challenges in Ethiopia: a review","volume":"4","author":"OS Zenbaba","year":"2024","journal-title":"Discov Food"},{"key":"pone.0357816.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1155\/2023\/2638123","article-title":"Assessments and identification of selected fish-borne zoonotic parasites in Nile tilapia and African catfish species in lakes of Haramaya District, Ethiopia","volume":"2023","author":"Z Tesfaye","year":"2023","journal-title":"Aquac Res"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0357816.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.1016\/j.parepi.2017.10.002","article-title":"Review on distribution of endo-parasites of fish in Ethiopia","volume":"2","author":"HG Gebremedhn","year":"2017","journal-title":"Parasite Epidemiol Control"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0357816.ref006","article-title":"The effects of fish parasites in freshwater culture and capture fisheries and their treatment mechanisms","volume":"4","author":"M MA","year":"2021","journal-title":"IZAB"},{"key":"pone.0357816.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"172","DOI":"10.1016\/j.profoo.2015.09.049","article-title":"Potential parasitic hazards for humans in fish meat","volume":"5","author":"D Ljubojevic","year":"2015","journal-title":"Procedia Food Science"},{"key":"pone.0357816.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfca.2014.09.005","article-title":"Interactive effects of dietary protein level and oil source on proximate composition and fatty acid composition in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)","volume":"37","author":"D Ljubojevic","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Food Compos Anal"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0357816.ref009","first-page":"1","article-title":"Aquaculture: a sustainable solution for fish cultivation and global food security","volume":"6","author":"K Brye","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Agric"},{"key":"pone.0357816.ref010","unstructured":"FAO. 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