The nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a zoonotic pathogen and the etiological agent of human angiostrongyliasis or rat lungworm disease. Hawai'i, particularly east Hawai'i Island, is the epicenter for angiostrongyliasis in the USA. Rats (Rattus spp.) are the definitive hosts while gastropods are intermediate hosts. The main objective of this study was to collect adult A. cantonensis from ...

The Black Rat (Rattus rattus) spread out of Asia to become one of the world's worst agricultural and urban pests, and a reservoir or vector of numerous zoonotic diseases, including the devastating plague. Despite the global scale and inestimable cost of their impacts on both human livelihoods and natural ecosystems, little is known of the global genetic diversity of Black Rats, the timing and d...

Parasitic infections of rodents can compromise scientific research as well as the health of the animals and humans. Based on previous studies, infection rate of parasitic helminths is different in various regions of Iran. The current survey was aimed to determine endoparasitic helminths infection in 138 trapped rodents of Kermanshah county, Iran. Mice and rats were trapped using metal snares fr...

Human activity has facilitated the introduction of a number of alien mammal species to the Galápagos Archipelago. Understanding the phylogeographic history and population genetics of invasive species on the Archipelago is an important step in predicting future spread and designing effective management strategies. In this study, we describe the invasion pathway of Rattus rattus across the Galápa...

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected clinical form of public health importance that is quite prevalent in the northern and eastern parts of Egypt. A comprehensive study over seven years (January 2005-December 2011) was conducted to track CL transmission with respect to both sandfly vectors and animal reservoirs. The study identified six sandfly species collected from different districts ...

Of 200 individual Xenopsylla cheopis fleas removed from Rattus norvegicus rats trapped in downtown Los Angeles, CA, 190 (95%) were positive for the presence of Bartonella DNA. Ninety-one amplicons were sequenced: Bartonella rochalimae-like DNA was detected in 66 examined fleas, and Bartonella tribocorum-like DNA was identified in 25 fleas. The data obtained from this study demonstrate an extrem...

Major introductions of roof rats (Rattus rattus) likely occurred in the ports of East Africa during the Third Plague Pandemic in the late 1800’s. Transport via trains, boats, and trucking likely introduced this species to inland areas of East Africa, ultimately including Northwest Uganda. Historic plague outbreaks occurred during the early part of the 20th century and continue to cause a human ...

The aim of the present research was to evaluate the potential of Nectomys rattus, the "water rat", to develop Schistosoma mansoni infection. Comparison with N. squamipes was carried out. Both species of rodents were submitted to transcutaneous infection using different infective cercariae loads: 50, 100 or 500. N. rattus showed high susceptibility to S. mansoni, with an infection rate of 71%. R...

A study to determine the diversity and distribution of ectoparasites and endoparasites infesting wild rat population of Carey Island was carried out from June to December 2010. A total of 81 rats were captured from various locations on Carey Island. Four rat species were identified namely, Rattus tiomanicus (45.7%), Rattus rattus diardii (25.9%), Rattus argentiventer (16%) and Rattus norvegicus...

The ultrastructure of the parathyroid glands of Rattus rattus was investigated. In the chief cells, the nucleus showed deep indentations, and lysosomal inclusions and rod-shaped crystalloids were present. Their ultrastructure is described, and the role of the lysosomal inclusions is discussed.