Prevalence of Ectoparasitic Infection of Rodents Captured near Student’s Hostels: Zoonotic Implications
Tijjani Mustapha, Ngah Zasmy Unyah, Roslaini Abd Majid, Sharif Alhassan Abdullahi, Nasiru Mohammed Wana
Annual Research & Review in Biology · pp. 1–10 · Published 18 Jun 2019
10.9734/arrb/2019/v32i130074Abstract
Background and Aims: Rodents constitute more than 42% of the known mammalian species, with 1700 species which belongs to three different families, include Muridae, Microtidae, and Sigmodontidae. Rodents species such as R. r. diardii and R. norvegicus play an important role as hosts for ectoparasites and reservoirs for various types of viruses, bacteria, rickettsia, protozoa, and helminths which are responsible for causing zoonotic diseases to humans and other vertebrate animals. The aim of this work is to identify the species of mites, ticks, and fleas causing diseases to humans and determined the prevalence of infestation in relation to gender, age, and habitat of the rodents. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Malaysia, Between September 2018 and March 2019. Methodology: Wild rats were captured using live traps from garbage areas, and places near the cafeteria in the student’s residential colleges at University Putra Malaysia. The rats were humanely euthanised and identified. They were classified as adult or juveniles. Their sex was also determined. Ectoparasites were collected by combing the fur the rodents on to a white plan sheet paper. The ectoparasites collected were washed and mounted with Hoyer’s media on a glass slide. Parasites were identified using a key morphological feature. Results: A total of 89 wild rats were trapped and examined for ectoparasites. Eight different species of ectoparasites that comprised of L. echidnanus, L. nuttalli, O. bacoti, I. granulatus, Heamaphysalis sp., P. spinoluso, H. pacifica, X. cheopis) were identified from the rodents examined. About 55% of the rodents trapped were positive for at least one species of ectoparasite parasites, and about 45.8% of the male rats and 30.8% of female were positive for ectoparasites. Meanwhile, in the adult, 42.9% are positive for at least one species of ectoparasites, whereas 32.2% of the juvenile rodent was also found positive for at least one species of ectoparasites. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that rodents trapped from the student’s colleges in University Putra Malaysia are infected with various ectoparasites species that might play an important role in the transmission of certain zoonotic diseases to humans. Therefore, we conclude that there is potential risk of rodent-borne zoonotic diseases transmission to humans in the study area. Awareness of prevention and control of rodent-borne diseases should be introduced to educate the students on the importance of zoonotic diseases associated with rodents.
References (33)
- 1 Veterinary Clinical Parasitology [DOI]
- 2 Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health [DOI]
- 3 Tick-Borne Rickettsial Pathogens in Ticks and Small Mammals in Korea [DOI]
- 4 Mammal density and patterns of ectoparasite species richness and abundance [DOI]
- 5 Laboratory Identification of Arthropod Ectoparasites [DOI]
- 6 Ectoparasites and endoparasites of peridomestic house-rats in ile-ife, Nigeria and implication on human health.
- 7 A Virus Resembling Russian Spring–Summer Encephalitis Virus from an Ixodid Tick in Malaya [DOI]
- 8 Protocols for field and laboratory rodent studies [DOI]
- 9 A survey of rodent-borne pathogens carried by wild-caught Norway rats: A potential threat to laboratory rodent colonies [DOI]
- 10 Ectoparasite fauna of rodents and shrews from four habitats in Kuala Lumpur and the states of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia and its public health significance.
- 11 Global Importance of Ticks and Associated Infectious Disease Agents [DOI]
- 12 Preliminary Survey of Ectoparasites and Associated Pathogens from Norway Rats in New York City [DOI]
- 13 Malaysian Parasites-XVIII. Ticks (Ixodoidea) of Borneo and Malaya.
- 14 Sex differences in flea infections among rodent hosts: is there a male bias? [DOI]
- 15 Rat-Flea Indices, Rainfall, and Plague Outbreaks in Vietnam, with emphasis on the Pleiku Area [DOI]
- 16 Male hosts drive infracommunity structure of ectoparasites [DOI]
- 17 Ectoparasites of small mammals in four localities of wildlife reserves in Peninsular Malaysia.
- 18 Ectoparasite fauna of rodents collected from two wildlife research centres in Saudi Arabia with discussion on the implications for disease transmission [DOI]
- 19 A STUDY ON RODENT ECTOPARASITES IN BANDAR ABBAS: THE MAIN ECONOMIC SOUTHERN SEAPORT OF IRAN
- 20 Ectoparasites of livestock, dogs, and wild rodents in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh [DOI]
- 21 Intestinal Helminths in Different Species of Rodents in North Khorasan Province, Northeast of Iran.
- 22 Ectoparasites of murids in peninsular Malaysia and their associated diseases [DOI]
- 23 Identification of collected ectoparasites of rodents in the west of Khuzestan Province (Ahvaz and Hovizeh), southwest of Iran [DOI]
- 24 Rickettsioses (Tick Typhus, Q-Fever, Urban Typhus) in Malaya1 [DOI]
- 25 A SURVEY OF ECTOPARASITES IN GUNUNG STONG FOREST RESERVE, KELANTAN, MALAYSIA [DOI]
- 26 A preliminary survey of ectoparasites of small mammals in Kuala Selangor Nature Park.
- 27 Occurrence of ectoparasitic arthropods (Siphonaptera, Acarina, and Anoplura) on rodents of Khorasan Razavi Province, northeast of Iran [DOI]
- 28 Parasites of the Nile rat in rural and urban regions of Sudan [DOI]
- 29 A Flea and Rodent Control Program for Plague Prevention in Thailand [DOI]
- 30 Ectoparasitic Arthropods Occurring on Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus Collected from Two Properties on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii (Acarina, Siphonaptera, and Anoplura)
- 31 DYNAMICS OF THE PLAGUE TRANSMISSION CYCLE IN CENTRAL JAVA (ECOLOGY OF POTENTIAL FLEA VECTORS)
- 32 A Brief Review of Fifty Years of Medical History in Selangor, Federation of Malaya.
- 33 American Veterinary Medical Association 1863–1963 [DOI]
Cited by 12
Mengistu Wale, Afework Bekele, Mesele Yihune · Global Ecology and Conservation · 2023
Jeffery Ho, Tanasak Changbunjong, Thekhawet Weluwanarak · Acta Tropica · 2021
Randa MLIK, Salim MEDDOUR, Bilal DIK · Notulae Scientia Biologicae · 2022
Aheir Achuil Deng, Emmanel P. Lita, Erneo Bernardo Ochi · Journal of Applied Veterinary Science And Technology · 2024
Shelly Kusumarini, Muhammad Fernanda Danuarta, Farhan Karami · Jurnal Medik Veteriner · 2022
Showing 5 of 12 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.
Related research
- Occupational Health Regulations in Nigeria: A Narrative Overview — shares topic coverage
- Review on Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases and Their Origins — shares topic coverage
- Assessment of Microbial Contaminations Associated with Steering Wheels and Palms of Commercial Drivers at the University of Cape Coast’s Taxi Rank — shares topic coverage
- Bioactive Compounds in Fish and Their Health Benefits — shares topic coverage
- Food Derived Bioactive Peptides for Health Enhancement and Management of Some Chronic Diseases — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
61
Page views
0
PDF downloads
33
Outbound clicks
12
Citations
Views over time
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.