Liu Ru-Jin, Guo Xian-Guo, Peng Pei-Ying, Lv Yan, Yin Peng-Wu, Song Wen-Yu, Xiang Rong, Chen Yan-Ling, Li Bei, Jin Dao-Chao
Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Institute of Pathogens and Vectors, Dali University, Dali, China.
Institute of Microbiology, Qujing Medical College, Qujing, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Mar 14;12:1519188. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1519188. eCollection 2025.
The Asian house rat () is an important infectious source and reservoir host for many zoonotic diseases, and its associated mites (chigger mites and gamasid mites) can act as vectors for these diseases. The present study aimed to elucidate the infestation patterns and related ecology of the mites on the body surface of in southwest China and explore relevant risk models.
Field surveys and taxonomic identification of the mites were conducted across five provincial regions in southwest China between 2001 and 2022. The constituent ratio ( ), prevalence ( ), mean abundance (), and mean intensity () were calculated to reflect the mite infestation status. The species richness index ( ), Shannon-Wiener diversity index (), Pielou's evenness (), and Simpson's dominance index () were used to analyze the mite communities. A multiple logistic regression model was employed to identify potential risk factors associated with the mite infestation. The "corrplot" R software (version 4.3.1) package was used to analyze interspecific relationships among some mite species.
A total of 75,023 mites were collected from 3,114 rats, representing 12 families, 46 genera, and 252 species. Among these, 173 were the chigger mite species and 79 were the gamasid mite species. The species richness and community diversity of the chigger mites were higher than those of the gamasid mites, but the infestation indexes of the gamasid mites on the rats were higher than those of the chigger mites. Several vector mite species co-existed on , with , and identified as the three dominant mite species, exhibiting high infestation indexes. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the mite infestation was influenced by a series of environmental factors and host-related factors (potential risk factors), with temperature and relative humidity identified as the most important risk factors. The impact of these potential risk factors on the infestation of a single mite group (chigger mites or gamasid mites) was different from the impact on the co-infestation of both mite groups together. Based on the logistic regression analysis, three predictive models were developed to predict the risk probability of each rat being infested with chigger mites alone, gamasid mites alone, and both mite groups together. A positive correlation existed between any two of the following species: , and .
rats are highly susceptible to mite infestation, hosting a variety of mite species and multiple vector mite species. The presence of multiple vector mite species on these rats increases the potential risk of transmission and persistence of related zoonotic diseases. A series of environmental factors and host factors, especially temperature and relative humidity, can influence mite infestation. The predictive models developed can estimate the likelihood of each rat being infested with mites. Some mite species show a preference for co-existing on .
亚洲家鼠（）是多种人畜共患病的重要传染源和储存宿主，其相关螨虫（恙螨和革螨）可作为这些疾病的传播媒介。本研究旨在阐明中国西南地区亚洲家鼠体表螨虫的感染模式及相关生态学特征，并探索相关风险模型。
2001年至2022年期间，在中国西南地区五个省级行政区开展了螨虫的实地调查和分类鉴定。计算构成比（）、患病率（）、平均丰度（）和平均强度（）以反映螨虫感染状况。采用物种丰富度指数（）、香农-威纳多样性指数（）、皮洛均匀度（）和辛普森优势度指数（）分析螨虫群落。采用多元逻辑回归模型确定与螨虫感染相关的潜在风险因素。使用“corrplot”R软件（版本4.3.1）包分析部分螨虫物种之间的种间关系。
从3114只亚洲家鼠中总共采集到75023只螨虫，分属于12科、46属、252种。其中，恙螨物种173种，革螨物种79种。恙螨的物种丰富度和群落多样性高于革螨，但革螨在鼠体上的感染指数高于恙螨。多种传播媒介螨虫物种共存于亚洲家鼠体表，其中，、和被确定为三种优势螨虫物种，感染指数较高。多元逻辑回归分析表明，螨虫感染受一系列环境因素和宿主相关因素（潜在风险因素）影响，温度和相对湿度被确定为最重要的风险因素。这些潜在风险因素对单个螨虫类群（恙螨或革螨）感染的影响与对两个螨虫类群共同感染的影响不同。基于逻辑回归分析，开发了三个预测模型，以预测每只亚洲家鼠单独感染恙螨、单独感染革螨以及同时感染两种螨虫的风险概率。以下物种中的任意两种之间存在正相关：、和。
亚洲家鼠极易感染螨虫，携带多种螨虫物种及多种传播媒介螨虫物种。这些家鼠身上存在多种传播媒介螨虫物种增加了相关人畜共患病传播和持续存在的潜在风险。一系列环境因素和宿主因素，尤其是温度和相对湿度，可影响螨虫感染。所开发的预测模型可估计每只家鼠感染螨虫的可能性。一些螨虫物种表现出在亚洲家鼠体表共存的偏好。
