Herring Worm
The herring worm (Anisakis simplex) is a parasitic roundworm whose larvae live in the flesh of marine fish and squid. People who eat raw or undercooked fish can become infected, causing a condition called anisakiasis.
The herring worm (Anisakis simplex) is a parasitic roundworm whose larvae live in the flesh of marine fish and squid. People who eat raw or undercooked fish can become infected, causing a condition called anisakiasis.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Herring Worm in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
A Marine Life Cycle
Adults live in the stomachs of whales and dolphins and shed eggs in the sea. The larvae develop in krill, then pass to fish and squid that eat them. Sea mammals become infected by eating infected fish.
Human Infection
When a person eats live larvae, they may burrow into the stomach or intestinal wall, causing severe pain, nausea and vomiting, and sometimes allergic reactions. Anisakiasis is most commonly reported in places that eat raw fish, such as Japan.
Prevention
Freezing fish at −20 °C for a week or cooking to 63 °C kills the larvae. Gutting fish promptly reduces migration of larvae into the muscle. See Pork Muscle Worm.
Herring Worm at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Anisakis simplex |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Nematoda |
| Class | Chromadorea |
| Order | Ascaridida |
| Family | Anisakidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Nematoda (Roundworms & Parasites) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | White coiled larva about 2 cm long found in the flesh of herring and cod; if eaten raw, it can burrow into the human stomach wall. |
| Order | Ascaridida |
| Disease | Anisakiasis |
See Also
- Trichinella spiralis — a worm from raw meat
- Atlantic Salmon — a fish that can carry larvae