Introduction
The Kudoa genus comprises more than 90 myxosporean parasitic
species capable of infecting various marine fish[1]. In Japan, K. septempunctata was
recently associated with food poisoning caused due to the consumption of
infected raw olive flounder [2,3]. Until recently,
infection potential of other members of the genus Kudoa in humans
was unknown. However, in the past decade, Japanese researchers have
reported foodborne diseases after the consumption of K.
hexapunctata -infected adult or juvenile Pacific bluefin tuna (PBT)
(Thunnus orientalis ) [4]. Until recently,K. hexapunctata was classified as an intraspecific variant ofK. neothunni , but it has now been established as a separate
species [5,6]; differing in spore shape, 28S rDNA
sequences, and potential to cause myoliquefaction, which is absent inK. hexapunctata . Although previous in vitro study
suggested that K. hexapunctata causes food poisoning[4], currently it is not listed as a food
poisoning-related pathogen in Japan. Here, we report food poisoning in
10 patients after consumption of juvenile PBT infected with K.
hexapunctata .