Some small mammals occur as household pests and harbour a number of parasites that could be of public health importance. This study profiled the helminth and protozoan parasites in trapped small mammals within and around human dwelling places (houses) located across 4 major towns (Auchi, Benin, Ekpoma, and Uromi) and environs in Edo state, Nigeria. Six genera (Apodemus sp., Crocidura sp., Mastomys natalensis, Mus musculus, Rattus sp., and Sorex sp.) were identified from 502 trapped small mammals. Overall, M. musculus (71.9%) and Rattus rattus (20.1%) were the most frequently trapped. In total, on examination of blood, gastrointestinal contents, and brain tissues, 12 helminth taxa (Angiostrongylus sp., Aspicularis sp., Capillaria sp., Gongylonema sp., Heterakis spumosa, Hymenolepis diminuta, Hymenolepis nana, Mastophorus muris, Moniliformis moniliformis, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Strongyloides sp., Trichosomoides sp., and Trichuris sp.), and 6 protozoan parasites (Babesia sp., Trypanosoma lewisi, Plasmodium sp., Eimeria sp., Isospora sp., and Toxoplasma gondii) were isolated. Most prevalent helminths with relatively heavy mean intensity were Strongyloides sp. and Heterakis spumosa, while Plasmodium, Eimeria, and Isospora were the most prevalent protozoan parasites. Generally, intrinsic factors like sex and age had marginal influence on the rate and burden of infection in M. musculus and R. rattus. Although the infection rate and prevalence of zoonotic parasites were low, they were largely recovered in rodents from Ekpoma. This study elucidates the public health implication of the presence of zoonotic parasites in these small mammals.

The insect fauna of rain-fed rice, Oryza sativa, was assessed using the sweep net and direct count methods. The objective of the study was to provide basic information on the insect pest complex of rice in the area and their natural enemies. One hundred and five insect species belonging to nine orders and 57 families were found. The insect orders in order of abundance were Diptera (45.67%), Coleoptera (12.77%), Lepidoptera (12.23%), Orthoptera (8.44%), Heteroptera (8.23%), Homoptera (7.03%), Hymenoptera (3.25%), Dermaptera (1.95%) and Dictyoptera (0.43%). Diopsis thoracica Westwood (Diopsidae) (69.43%) was the most abundant dipteran followed by the sarcophagids (14.93%) and calliphorids (7.11%). Members of the family Chrysomelidae represented 50% of the coleopterans followed by the coccinellids (17.46%). While 31% of the lepidopterans were noctuids, 60% were pyralids. The pentatomids (50.57%) were the most abundant heteropterans while the acridids (43%) were the most prevalent orthopterans. The homopterans were mainly Cofana unimaculata Signoret (which represented 79%). The insects were clustered into three groups with D. thoracica alone in group 1, C. unimaculata and Sarcophaga species in group 2 and the rest in group 3. We therefore conclude that D. thoracica is the most important pest of rice in Ekpoma while C. unimaculata may also be very important, but Sarcophaga species appears to be the most important natural enemy in the system.