• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.97-105
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• 2017

Parasitic leeches could directly (through causing poor growth, anemia and wound in the fish) and indirectly (by predisposition of the fish to secondary bacterial and fungal infections) affects their hosts. In the present study, fishes that were attacked by leeches in natural and experimental environment were studied. Pathologic samples were obtained from damages at the site of leech bite, as well as kidney and liver of the fish. Histopathological examination revealed numerous lesions at the site of leech bite including tissue demolition, detachment at the site of leech bite in the epidermis of epithelial tissue in the skin, destructed nucleus in epithelial cells of the skin plus necrosis in the damaged skin and weak inflammatory penetration to acute necrotic damages along with piercing dermis layer. Pathologic lesions in the kidney included some changes such as proliferation by increasing glomerular cells and membrane cells in capillary vein of the kidney, blood cell necrosis in kidney with infiltration of white blood cells mainly mononuclear and less polymorphonuclear which are the symptoms of anemia due to blood feeding and sucking by leeches. There was also a chronic kidney infection probably originated from another part of body such as skin. Moreover, leeches caused hemorrhagic anemia due to blood consumption of the hosts, which led to observation of immature red blood cells. Also results showed that diseases induced by leeched in fish could be acute or chronic, which depends on size of fish, species of leech and severity of infection.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.399-407
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• 2010

On the inner side of each operculum of the crucian carp, Carassius auratus (n=10), the leech, Limnotrachelobdella sinensis of 1-4 individuals were parasitic. The leeches had approximately 41.0 mm in total length and 11 mm in width. These body was composed with anterior sucker, neck, trunk and posterior sucker and average length was 2.3 mm, 7.2 mm, 23.3 mm and 8.7 mm respectively. To both sides of the trunk lateral vesicle of 11 pair existed. When observed by SEM, anterior sucker was hemisphere shape and the mouth where proboscis comes out existed with the its center. Proboscis was connected the esophagus directly. Under light microscopy, bloodsucking gill of C. auratus showed lamella fusion, hypertrophy the epithelial cell of the filament and lamella, increased mucocytes and congested capillaries. On the other hand, necrotic and hydropic degeneration epithelial cell of the lamella, and infiltration of the macrophages from some individuals were suggested the secondary infection with the bacteria or virus after bloodsucking activity of the leech.