A Survey of Nematode Parasites of Small Mammals in Tunisia, North Africa: Diversity of Species and Zoonotic Implications

Jrijer, Jamel; Bordes, Frédéric; Morand, Serge; Neifar, Lassad

doi:10.1654/4767.1

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Species of the genus Gongylonema are known to be parasites of birds and mammals including man (Wilson et al 2001), and are transmitted by beetles (Eira et al 2006;Gibson 2007;Hallan 2007). They have been reported in rats (Hasegawa et al 1994;Paramasvaran et al 2009) and recently in M. shawi (Jrijer et al 2015) with a high infection rate (50%); however, in the current study we found Gongylonema neoplasticum in the stomach mucosa of only one specimen of M. shawi.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 64%

“…Until now only one species, P. musayevi, was reported, by Mamedov (2012) in a Libyan jird. In Tunisia our result is the first report of a Physaloptera species within a rodent, since the only prior report was of P. clausa by Jrijer et al (2015) with Atelerix algirus as host with high prevalence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…This whipworm was previously described by Bernard (1969) from Gerbillus sp., and more recently Jrijer et al (2015) reported this nematode in M. shawi and M. libycus in Tunisia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Inermicapsifer madagascariensis is considered to be a potential zoonotic agent; it was reported as a parasite of humans in many African countries (Bailenger & Carcenac 1970;Hira 1975;González Núñez et al 1996). Among the nematode species discussed above, G. neoplasticum is also considered to be potentially zoonotic, based on its wide host spectrum and its high rates of transmission (Eira et al 2006;Paramasvaran et al 2009;Jrijer et al 2015), although human infection is rare. Many species of Physaloptera are known to be zoonotic, although human infections have been reported on rare occasions after accidental ingestion of infected intermediate or paratenic hosts (Naem et al 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, Jrijer and Neifar (2014) described Meggittina numida in M. shawi, a new tapeworm belonging to the genus Meggittina Lynsdale, 1953 (family: Catenotaeniidae) of the order Cyclophyllidea. Recently, Jrijer et al (2015) studied the diversity of nematode parasites of small mammals from Tunisia including M. shawi and M. libycus, and reported four nematode species parasites of these two rodent species: Gongylonema neoplasticum Fibiger & Ditlevsen, 1914;Syphacia obvelata Yamaguti, 1941;Trichuris gerbilli Bernard, 1969 andAcanthocheilonema viteae Chabaud, 1952. Therefore, and given that these two jirds, M. shawi and M. libycus, live close to humans in many arid regions in Tunisia, the aim of the current study is to shed some light on their common helminth parasites (cestodes and nematodes) in these regions, to evaluate their zoonotic potential and the risk of their transmission to humans and domestic animals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

A survey study on the helminth parasites of two wild jirds,Meriones shawiandM. libycus(Rodentia: Gerbillinae), in Tunisian desert areas

Khemiri

Jrijer²,

Neifar³

et al. 2017

The European Zoological Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A parasitological survey of 107 jirds, belonging to two species, Meriones shawi and M. libycus, was carried out. Rodents were trapped in three separate desert regions of Tunisia: Bouhedma (in the centre), Dghoumes (in the southwest) and Sidi Toui (in the southeast). The survey revealed infection with nine helminth species -six cestodes: Raillietina sp., Meggittina numida, Meggittina gerbilli and Inermicapsifer madagascariensis, and two Taeniidae species: Taenia endothoracicus and Taenia sp.; and three nematodes: Gongylonema neoplasticum, Physaloptera sp. and Trichuris gerbilli. The overall prevalence of helminth infection was 68.22% (73/107); the highest rate was in M. shawi (80.82%, 59 cases), whereas it was 41.17% (14 cases) in M. libycus. The most frequent helminth was Raillietina sp. (53.27%) followed by Meggittina numida (21.5%). Meriones shawi showed the highest helminth diversity with eight parasite species, with synchronous infections of two, three and four species of helminths in one rodent, compared to M. libycus in which only two cestode species were found, without synchronous infection. Moreover, significant differences in the overall infection prevalence between sexes (60.27 and 39.73% for males and females, respectively) and age were detected; only one juvenile specimen of M. shawi was found infected. Prevalence depended also on habitat: the highest infection rate was in Bouhedma (80%), followed by Dghoumes (58.33%), and the lowest was in Sidi Toui (47.82%).

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…This whipworm was previously described by Bernard (1969) from Gerbillus sp., and more recently Jrijer et al (2015) reported this nematode in M. shawi and M. libycus in Tunisia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A survey study on the helminth parasites of two wild jirds,Meriones shawiandM. libycus(Rodentia: Gerbillinae), in Tunisian desert areas

Khemiri

Jrijer²,

Neifar³

et al. 2017

The European Zoological Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Whipworm diversity in West African rodents: a molecular approach and the description of Trichuris duplantieri n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae)

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Whipworms were collected from rodents (Muridae) from six West African countries: Burkina-Faso, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and the Republics of Benin, Guinea, Mali and Senegal. Molecular sequences (ITS-1, 5.8S and ITS-2 of the ribosomal DNA gene) and morphometric characters were analysed in Trichuris (Nematoda: Trichuridae) specimens found in seven host species: Arvicanthis niloticus, Gerbilliscus gambianus, Gerbillus gerbillus, G. tarabuli, Mastomys erythroleucus, M. huberti and M. natalensis. Phylogenetic analyses revealed three clades, one recognised as Trichuris mastomysi, previously recorded in M. natalensis from Tanzania, and the other two previously undescribed. A new species named Trichuris duplantieri n. sp., found in Gerbillus spp. from Mauritania, was characterised using molecular and morphometric methods.

show abstract

Helminths of urban rats in developed countries: a systematic review to identify research gaps

Gliga

Pisanu²,

Walzer

et al. 2020

Parasitol Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although black ( Rattus rattus) and brown ( Rattus norvegicus ) rats are among the most widespread synanthropic wild rodents, there is a surprising scarcity of knowledge about their ecology in the urban ecosystem. In particular, relatively few studies have investigated their helminth species diversity in such habitat. We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guideline to synthesize the existing published literature regarding the helminth fauna of urban rats in developed countries (North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan). We aimed at describing the species diversity and richness of urban rat helminths, the species prevalence and associations, the methods of investigation, the pathological changes observed in the hosts, the risk factors of infection and the public health significance of rat-borne helminthiases. Twenty-three scientific papers published between 1946 and 2019 were reviewed, half of them were conducted in Europe. Twenty-five helminth species and eight genera were described from the liver, digestive tract, lungs and muscles of urban rats. The most commonly reported parasite was Calodium hepaticum . Prevalence and risk factors of helminth infection in urban rats varied greatly between studies. Observed pathological findings in the rat host were generally minor, except for C. hepaticum . Several rat helminths can parasitize humans and are therefore of public health significance. The lack of references to identification keys and the rare use of molecular tools for species confirmation represent the main limitation of these studies. Knowledge gap on this topic and the needs for future research are discussed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00436-020-06776-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

A Survey of Nematode Parasites of Small Mammals in Tunisia, North Africa: Diversity of Species and Zoonotic Implications

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

A survey study on the helminth parasites of two wild jirds,Meriones shawiandM. libycus(Rodentia: Gerbillinae), in Tunisian desert areas

A survey study on the helminth parasites of two wild jirds,Meriones shawiandM. libycus(Rodentia: Gerbillinae), in Tunisian desert areas

Whipworm diversity in West African rodents: a molecular approach and the description of Trichuris duplantieri n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae)

Helminths of urban rats in developed countries: a systematic review to identify research gaps

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About