Accordingly, a
significant statistical correlation between the increasing of the worm burden in the fillets and a
decreasing of A. pegreffii in the viscera was observed. In contrast, those fish constantly maintained at 2 C
showed no statistically significant variation in infection either in the viscera or the fillets, after 24, 48 and
72 h. In the same batches of anchovies, larvae of the non-zoonotic nematode parasite Hysterothylacium
aduncum (identified to the species level by ITS rDNA sequences analysis) were found, but they were
never observed infecting the musculature of the anchovies. Our results suggest that temperature plays an
important role in the post-mortem motility of A. pegreffii larvae in anchovies. In addition, the presence of
A. pegreffii in the fillets inspected immediately after their capture indicates that intra-vitam migration
may also occur. As a consequence, the importance of the adoption of rules to prevent human anisakiasis,
as the deep freezing to 20 C for 24 h, was underlined.
during life