Hidden infections: Linking parasite ecology, fish health and stakeholder perceptions in Nile tilapia aquaculture in central Kenya

Higher monopisthocotylan burden in farmed Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) from 20 central Kenya farms is linked to more gill lesion types (OR 1.86, p < 0.001).

• Why it matters: Parasite infections can be missed when fish-health checks focus on visible symptoms, creating a gap between lab evidence of parasite-associated damage and what farms recognize and diagnose.
• What they did: The study examined 157 fish for five metazoan parasite groups and used gill histology in 137 fish, linking parasite burdens to lesion-type counts and comparing diversity/community patterns across pond categories.
• The result: Stakeholders in interviews and questionnaires rarely identified parasites as the cause, and single-time water-quality measures showed no clear associations after multiple-testing correction, highlighting limited farm-level diagnostic confirmation.

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