Dr. Kassai Tibor - Dr. Murai Éva szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 9. (Budapest, 1976)
An Unidentifiable Extracellular Sporozoan Parasite from the Blood of the Carp Dr. György CSABA Central Veterinary Institute, Budapest "An unidentifiable extracellular sporozoan parasite from the blood of the carp". - Csaba, Gy. - Parasit. Hung. _9. 21-24. 1976. ABSTRACT. Description is given of an extracellular sporozoan parasite found in the blood of carp (Cyprinus carpio). In the plasma of these protozoa of white cell size 8 spindle-shaped developmental units are formed. After smashup of the cell these elements develop further to another new ceU containing likewise 8 developmental forms each. In summer, 1975 while studying the corpuscular elements of carp blood I found an unknown protozoon resembling the Haemosporidia. In the blood of freshwater fish unicellular parasites of the genera Haemogregarlna and Hepatozoon are known to occur most commonly (SHULMAN, 1962). The incidence of the Dactylos oma genus has also been reported by BECKER (1970) and MANWELL (1964). It was NAWROTZKY (1914) and BECKER (1962) who thoroughly dealt with the freshwater Haemogregarina. Considerably more data are available about blood protozoa of the marine fish (KOHL-YAKIMOFF and YAKIMOFF, 1915; LAIRD ana BULLOCK, 1969). Protozoological textbooks, however, record only intracellularly living sporozoa in the fish blood (BECKER, 1970; KUDO, 1954; OLLENSCHLAGER, 1975). Even the reptiles, being far richer in genera, are known to have only intraceUular sporozoa in their blood (LAISSON, LANDAU and SHAW, 1974). From the blood of the carp SMTRNOVA (1971) has described a sporozoan parasite as Haemogregarina cyprini . The aim of the present study is to introduce those extracellularly parasitizing sporozoan forms which I found in carp blood. Material and Method Between July, 1975 and end of January, 1976 I carried out the examination of about 400 carps of different age, coming from 15 fish farms. Some carps were investigated right after their collection, while others were subjected to subsequent several examinations in the course of their maintenance in aquarium of several months duration. In order to prepare smears, blood was taken by three methods: 1) by cutting the tall through at the end of the body, 2) after killing the fish, directly from the heart, 3) from the tail artery by heparinized glass capillary. The dry blood smears were fixed with 96% ethyl alcohol for 10 minutes, then stained according to Giemsa (100 ml boiled distilled water, 1,5 ml Giemsa stock-solution) for 16 hours. In almost every case native blood preparation was also examined under cover slip. Results The incidence of the said parasite was recorded in 9 of the 15 fish farms examined. Only fry proved to be infected, about 200 fishes altogether. Mean extensity of infection
