Surveillance of Endoparasitic Infections and the First Report of Physaloptera sp and Sarcocystis spp. in Farm Rodents and Shrews in Central Taiwan

• Main Authors: Tung, K.C., 賴政宏, Hsiao, F.C., Yang, C.H., Chou, C.C., Lee, W.M., Wang, K.S., Lai, C.H., 董光中, 周濟眾, 李衛民
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: endoparasites; rodents; Taiwan; angiostrongylus-cantonensis; eosinophilic meningitis; hepatic; capillariasis; hymenolepis-diminuta; thailand; child; nana; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11455/33013

A total or 95 rodents and shrews including 82 Rattus norvegeicus, 7 Rattus rattus, and 6 Suncus murinus were trapped from different localities of Taichung, Taiwan. The overall prevalence of parasites was 93.7%. The infection rates for R. norvegeicus, R. rattus, and S. murinus were 93.9%, 95.7%, and 100%, respectively. The rats were infected with four cestodes, Taenia taeniaeformis (48.4%), Hymenolepis diminuta (38.9%), Hymenolepis nana (5.3%), and Raillietina celebensis (45.3%); ten nematodes, Angiostrongylus cantonensis (16.8%), Capillaria hepatica (49.5%), Gongylonema neoplasticum (1.1%), Heterakis spumosa (35.8%), Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (57.9%), Physaloptera sp. (1.1%), Strongyloides ratti (81.1%), Syphacia muris (2.1%), Trichosomoides crassicauda (29.5%), and Trichurus sp. (1.1%), and one protozoan, Sarcocystis spp. (33.7%). Physaloptera sp. from S. murinus and Sarcocystis spp. from both R. norvegicus and R. rattus were reported for the first time in Taiwan. The importances of zoonotic species were discussed.