Spickett A, Junker K, Froeschke G, Haukisalmi V, Matthee S
Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Private Bag X05, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa.
J Helminthol. 2019 Aug 30;94:e81. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X19000403.
Currently, descriptive information on the host range and geographic distribution of helminth parasites associated with naturally occurring rodents in South and southern Africa is scant. Therefore, we embarked on a countrywide study to: (1) identify gastrointestinal helminths and their host range, and (2) provide baseline data on the geographic distribution of helminths across the country. Altogether, 55 helminth taxa were recovered from at least 13 rodent species (n = 1030) at 26 localities across South Africa. The helminth taxa represented 25 genera (15 nematodes, nine cestodes and one acanthocephalan). Monoxenous nematodes were the most abundant and prevalent group, while the occurrence of heteroxenous nematodes and cestodes was generally lower. The study recorded several novel helminth-host associations. Single-host-species infections were common, although multiple-host-species infections by helminth species were also recorded. Monoxenous nematodes and some cestodes were recovered countrywide, whereas heteroxenous nematodes were restricted to the eastern regions of South Africa. The study highlights the as yet unexplored diversity of helminth species associated with naturally occurring rodent species and provides initial data on their geographical distribution in South Africa.
目前，关于南部非洲和南非自然环境中啮齿动物体内寄生蠕虫的宿主范围和地理分布的描述性信息很少。因此，我们开展了一项全国性研究，目的是：（1）确定胃肠道蠕虫及其宿主范围，（2）提供全国范围内蠕虫地理分布的基线数据。在南非的26个地点，从至少13种啮齿动物（n = 1030）中总共发现了55种蠕虫分类单元。这些蠕虫分类单元代表了25个属（15种线虫、9种绦虫和1种棘头虫）。单宿主线虫是数量最多、分布最广的类群，而异宿主线虫和绦虫的出现频率通常较低。该研究记录了几种新的蠕虫-宿主关联。单宿主物种感染很常见，不过也记录到了蠕虫物种对多宿主物种的感染。单宿主线虫和一些绦虫在全国范围内都有发现，而异宿主线虫则局限于南非东部地区。该研究突出了与自然环境中啮齿动物物种相关的蠕虫物种尚未被探索的多样性，并提供了它们在南非地理分布的初步数据。
