Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-r5zm4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T01:56:40.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ectoparasites of some rodents from the edge of the Western Desert near Alexandria, Egypt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2011

I. A. Gaaboub ,
A. H. Donia ,
N. L. Kelada  and
M. E. H. Abdelkarim
I. A. Gaaboub
Affiliation:
Entomology Division, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
A. H. Donia
Affiliation:
Entomology Division, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
N. L. Kelada
Affiliation:
Entomology Division, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
M. E. H. Abdelkarim
Affiliation:
Entomology Division, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
Get access

Abstract

Four species and subspecies of rats and mice (Rattus norvegicus, Arvicanthis niloticus niloticus, Mus musculus and R. r. frugivorus) were found associated with a new irrigated area, El-Galaa, about 55 km from the edge of the desert near Alexandria, Egypt. Ectoparasites recovered from these hosts were three species of fleas (the Oriental rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis Rothschild, the human flea Pulex irritans Linnaeus, and the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis felis Bouche). three species of sucking lice (Polyplax spinulosa Burmeister, Polyplax abyssinica Ferris, and Hoplopleura capitosa Johnson), and five species of mites (Ornithonyssus bacoti Hirst, Laelaps keegani, Dermanyssus spp., Haemolaelaps spp., and Echinolaelaps echidninus Berlese). Records showed that the lice were the most abundant ectoparasites (39.03%) recovered from their rodent hosts, followed by the mite species (36.82%) and finally the fleas (24.1%). Lice in general and fleas (especially X. cheopis) showed a certain degree of host specificity as compared to other ectoparasites. A close correlation has been shown to exist between the incidence of flea and lice species (but not the mite species) and the incidence of some rodents.

Keywords

Small rodentsectoparasitesXenopsylla cheopisPulex irritansCtenocephalides felis felisPolyplax spinulosaPolyplax abyssinicaHoplopleura capitosaOrnithonyssus bacotiLaelaps keeganiDermanyssus spp.Haemolaelaps spp.rodent/flea index
Type
Research Articles
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 3 , Issue 2-3 , September 1982 , pp. 145 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Anon (1960) Trapping rats and mites. U.S. Department of Fish, Wildlife Service, Branch of Predator and Rodent Control, Lafayette, Indiana.Google Scholar
Baker, E. W. and Wharton, G. W. (1959) An Introduction to Acarology. Macmillan, New York.Google Scholar
Calhoun, J. B. (1963) The ecology and sociology of the Norway rat. U.S. Department of Health. Education and Welfare, P.H.S., Bethesda. Maryland.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El-Adl, M. A. (1977) Studies on the ectoparasites of the farm animals at Dakahlia Province. M.Sc. thesis in acarology. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, Alexandria.Google Scholar
Gaaboub, I. A., Widaatalla, A. E. E. and Kelada, N. L. (1981) Survey of rats and mice and their ectoparasites in relation to cultivated areas in the vicinity of Alexandria Governorate, Egypt. J. agric. Sci, Camb., in press.Google Scholar
Johnson, P. T. (1960) The sucking lice (Anoplura) of Egypt. 1. Species infesting rodents. J. Egypt. publ. Hlth Ass. 35, 203–244.Google Scholar
Keegan, H. L. (1956) Ectoparasitic Laelaptid and Dermanyssid mites of Egypt, Kenya and the Sudan. J. Egypt. publ. Hlth Ass. 31, 199–279.Google Scholar
Lewis, R. E. (1967) The fleas (Siphonaptera) of Egypt. An illustrated and annotated key. J. Parasit. 53, 863–885.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Owen, J. S. (1953) Field key to genera of Sudan rodents. Sudan Notes Rec. 34, 104–113.Google Scholar
Pollitzer, R. (1954) Plaque. WHO Monograph Series No. 22.Google Scholar
Pratt, H. D. (1963) Mites of public health importance and their control. U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Atlanta, Georgia.Google Scholar
Schmutterer, H. (1969) Pests of Crops in Northeast and Central Africa—With Particular Reference to the Sudan. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart.Google Scholar
Setzer, H. W. (1959) A review of Libyan mammals. J. Egypt. publ. Hlth Ass. 32, 41–82.Google Scholar
Setzer, H. W. (1963) Notes on some Egyptian rodents. J. Egypt, publ. Hlth Ass. 38, 51–60.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1972) Vector Control in International Health. WHO. Geneva.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1974) Ecology and Control of Rodents of Public Health Importance. Report of a WHO Scientific Group No. 553, Geneva.Google Scholar
Zumpt, F. (1961) The Arthropod Parasites of Vertebrates in Africa South of the Sahara. Vol. 1, Chelicerata. South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesberg.Google Scholar
Zumpt, F. (1966) The Arthropod Parasites of Vertebrates in Africa South of the Sahara. Vol. 3. Insecta excl. Phthiraptera. South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesberg, pp. 117–211.Google Scholar