SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Nearly all freshwater game fish at popular recreational fishing areas in Southern California have been exposed to invasive parasites with the ability to infect humans, a new study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases on Tuesday found.

The study is the first time the parasites — two species of flatworms called trematodes — have been recorded with such a widespread presence in the state's fish, suggesting infections from the organisms pose a greater risk to public health nationwide than previously thought.

"It's something we don't want to overdramatize, but we also don't want to under emphasize," Ryan Hechinger, an ecologist and parasitologist at UC San Diego's Scripps Instruction of Oceanography who is a lead author on the study, explained to FOX 5/KUSI

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