Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep 29;13(1):461.
doi: 10.1186/s13104-020-05304-x.

Intestinal helminthic parasites of rodents in the central region of Iran: first report of a capillariid nematode from Dryomys nitedula

Sina Mohtasebi  1 , Aref Teimouri  2 , Iraj Mobedi  1 , Alireza Mohtasebi  3 , Hamed Abbasian  1 , Mohammad Javad Abbaszadeh Afshar  4   5
Affiliations

Intestinal helminthic parasites of rodents in the central region of Iran: first report of a capillariid nematode from Dryomys nitedula

Sina Mohtasebi et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Objectives: Rodents play an important role to spread zoonotic diseases through society. The current study was carried out to collect informative data on the intestinal helminthic infections of wild rodents in Taleqan County, Alborz Province, the center of Iran, emphasizing their zoonotic aspects.

Results: Sixty-two killed rodents by local farmers belonging to five species were collected, among which 24 were identified as Mus musculus, 15 as Meriones persicus, 12 as Meriones libycus, 10 as Apodemus witherbyi, and 1 as Dryomys nitedula. Of them, 30 (48.4%) were infected with at least one helminth species. Rodents were infected with Hymenolepis diminuta (42%), Syphacia obvelata (21%), Hymenolepis nana (17.7%), Heligmosomoides polygyrus (9.6%), Trichuris muris (8%), and as well as a capillariid nematode that was isolated for the first time from D. nitedula in Iran. The findings of the present study revealed a significant intestinal helminthic infection of rodents in Taleqan County. Improving hygiene practices, and making a preventive attitude can be helpful to reduce the hazards of rodent-borne diseases in the area where humans, livestock, and synanthropic rodents are living close to each other.

Keywords: Capillariidae; Dryomys nitedula; Helminth parasites; Iran; Rodent.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The capillariid nematode isolated from Dryomys nitedula for the first time in Iran. a Egg (400 ×), b Female worm, Stichocytes are present (100 ×), c Camera lucida drawing
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Helminths ova from intestinal contents of collected rodents from Taleqan (400 ×). a Heligmosomoides polygyrus, b Syphacia obvelata, c Hymenolepis nana, d Hymenolepis diminuta, e Trichuris muris
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Han BA, Kramer AM, Drake JM. Global patterns of zoonotic disease in mammals. Trends Parasitol. 2016;32(7):565–577. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2016.04.007. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Meerburg BG, Singleton GR, Kijlstra A. Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health. Crit Rev Microbiol. 2009;35(3):221–270. doi: 10.1080/10408410902989837. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kia E, Homayouni M, Farahnak A, Mohebali M, Shojai S. Study of endoparasites of rodents and their zoonotic importance in Ahvaz, south west Iran. Iran J Publ Health. 2001;30(1):49–52.
    1. Kia E, Shahryary-Rad E, Mohebali M, Mahmoudi M, Mobedi I, Zahabiun F, Zarei Z, Miahipoor A, Mowlavi G, Akhavan A. Endoparasites of rodents and their zoonotic importance in Germi, Dashte-Mogan, Ardabil Province, Iran. Iran J Parasitol . 2010;5(4):15. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hasanpor H, Mohebali A, Hajaran H, Mobedi A, Shahbazi F, Teimori S, Mowlavi GR. A survey on zoonotic helminths of rats in northern parts of Khuzestan Province, Iran. J Ilam Univ Med Sci . 2013;21(1):46–52.