Anisakiasis is caused by several related larval nematodes, especially
those of the genera Anisakis, Phoconema, and Contracaecum, that
are ingested when eating raw or insufficiently cooked marine fish,
as in sushi or sashimi.1 Adult nematodes are found
mainly in the gastrointestinal tract of cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises, and
whales), and nematode eggs shed in the feces of these definitive hosts
are ingested by small crustaceans, where they develop into third-stage
larvae.2 Fish and cephalopod mollusks become infected
by eating crustaceans infected by larval forms, which invade the
tissues of the fish. Definitive hosts and humans usually become
infected by eating fish containing these larval stages. Most cases
are associated with mackerel, but other fish, such as cod, whiting,
haddock, herring, and salmon, may be infected.