Study of the endoparasitic fauna of commensal rats and shrews caught in traditional wet markets in Taichung City, Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Rats live in close proximity to human populations. Feral rodents are known to transmit diseases and act as reservoir hosts to many zoonotic parasites that pose health risks to humans. The aim of this study is to investigate endoparasitic infections in commensal rats and shrews caught in traditional wet markets in Taichung City, Taiwan. METHODS: A total of 51 commensal wild rodents and shrews were caught in traditional wet markets in Taichung City, including 32 Rattus norvegicus, 11 R. rattus, and eight Suncus murinus. All tissues, organs, and intestinal contents were carefully examined after euthanasia for the detection of parasites. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of infection was 94.1%, and the infection rates in R. norvegicus, R. rattus, and S. murinus were 93.8%, 90.9%, and 100.0%, respectively. Four cestodes (Taenia taeniaeformis, Hymenolepis diminuta, H. nana, and Raillietina celebensis), seven nematodes (Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Capillaria hepatica, Heterakis spumosa, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Strongyloides ratti, Syphacia muris, and Trichosomoides crassicauda), and one protozoan (Sarcocystis spp.) were detected. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that commensal rodents and shrews found in the traditional wet markets of Taichung City are hosts to various zoonotic parasites and, therefore, pose a serious health risk to humans and domestic animals in Taiwan.

Surveillance of endoparasitic infections and the first report of Physaloptera sp. and Sarcocystis spp. in farm rodents and shrews in central Taiwan.

A total of 95 rodents and shrews including 82 Rattus norvegicus, 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. norvegicus, R. rattus, and S. murinus were 93.9%, 85.7%, 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.