摘要
We monitored the prevalence of endoparasitic infections of rodents in Punjab State, India, between January 2004and December 2005. Three species of wild rodents, namely the house rat, Rattus rattus (n = 42), the lesserbandicoot rat, Bandicota bengalensis (n = 34) and the Indian gerbil, Tatera indica (n = 15), were live-captured fromhouses and crop fields. Examination of various organs revealed that the highest rates of endoparasitic infectionoccurred in R. rattus (40.5%), followed by B. bengalensis (35.3 %) and then T. indica (20.0%), with an overallinfection rate of 35.2%. All three rodent species were found naturally infected with one or more species ofhelminths. Metacestodes (1–6) of Cysticercus fasciolaris (larvae of Taenia taeniaeformis) were found in all threerodent species (in the liver). In one male T. indica, numerous robust T. taeniaeformis metacestodes were found inoval sacs attached to the mesentery and the abdominal wall, an unusual site. The cauda epididymal fluid of thesame gerbil was also found to be infected with a very rare species of strongylid nematode, which could not beidentified to genus or species level. It is possible that this nematode is transmitted sexually and thus may affect thereproductive potential of gerbils. This appears to be the first report of this phenomenon. In one B. bengalensisindividual, the intestine was found to be obstructed with an acanthocephalan, Moniliformis moniliformis, withconcurrent infection with C. fasciolaris in the form of multiple cysts in the liver. Although no natural protozoaninfection was found in these field rodents, experimental Trypanosoma evansi infection has been established in allthree species with high pathogenicity, and the possibility of sexual transmission was supported by the presence of T.evansi in the cauda epididymal fluid of male rats.
