The common carp <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyprinus carpio</Emphasis> in Croatia (Danube and Adriatic basins): a historical review

This review provides the first historical account of the ecology and biology of common carp Cyprinus carpio in the Danube and Adriatic basins of Croatia, and emphasises the species’ economic relevance and management implications. As a semi-native species that is native to the Danube but translocated across the Adriatic Basin, carp plays an important role for aquaculture, recreational and artisanal fisheries. However, original strains have now disappeared, and because of genetic pollution in inland waters there is an increasing demand for restoring populations of the now rare and threatened wild carp, making conservation measures a priority. Translocations of carp across water bodies of the Adriatic Basin mostly for food supply did not prove successful in the long term, as the resulting ecological impacts may have been higher than the expected economic advantages. Measures for the prevention of further (uncontrolled) carp re-stocking are therefore necessary and this will require closer collaboration between scientists and environmental managers.     

Trichinella pseudospiralis in pig from Croatia

Trichinella spiralis and Trichinella britovi are species that are frequently found in domestic pigs and various sylvatic animals in Croatia. During routine trichinoscopy, non-encapsulated larvae were detected in the muscle tissue of a domestic pig. Artificial digestion revealed a larvae burden of 602 muscle larvae per gram of tissue. Tissue section analysis confirmed the presence of non-encapsulated larvae. Multiplex PCR identified the larvae as T. pseudospiralis. This observation is consistent with the reports of a local veterinary inspector who described the presence of non-encapsulated Trichinella in four individual cases over the last 2 years. This is the first report of T. pseudospiralis in Croatia and one of very few cases of T. pseudospiralis infection described in domestic pigs. The detection of non-encapsulated larvae stresses the need for implementation of artificial digestion instead of trichinoscopy for the detection and identification of Trichinella infections.