(Photos by Karl Marx Quiazon)

Fig. 2. Numerous live worm of Philometra.

Fig. 1. P. nemipteri parasitizing the gonad of golden threadfin bream.

Parasite	Philometra nemipteri
Taxonomy	Nematoda, Secernentea, Camallanida
Host	Golden threadfin bream (Nemipterus virgatus)
Infection site	Gonad
Clinical sign	Many reddish worms are observed in the gonad (Fig. 1).
Parasitology	Only female (length: >20 cm) is visually observed. The body (length 43.45 (24.1-63.9) mm; width 0.25-0.50 mm) is cylindrical (Fig. 2). Three small papillae are located at hemispherical cephalic end (Luo, 2001). Life cycle is unknown. Though females are observed in April and May, it is unclear whether they are gravid in this period.
Pathology	Unknown
Health hazard	Since this parasite is not infectious to human, it is harmless in food hygiene.
Diagnosis	Check the parasite in the gonad. Philometra nemipteri is differentiated from P. lateolabracis, a parasite of Japanese sea bass, by the presence of 3 cephalic papillae in the former, while 2 circles papillae in the latter (Luo, 2001).
References	Luo, D.-M. (2001): Notes on nematodes of fishes from Taiwan Strait I (Nematoda: Trichocephalida: Capillariidae; Spirurida: Dracunculidae). Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 26, 154-161.