background: ectoparasites of mammalian hosts play an important role for transmission of diseases from the host res­ervoirs to human. the aim of this study was to determine the species composition and infestation parameters for para­sitic arthropods associated with rhombomys opimus. methods: ectoparasites of r. opimus were collected from seven endemic district of zcl in iran including shirvan an...

was detected in 9 P. irritans fleas (7 male [6 unfed and 1 engorged] and 2 [engorged] female) from 3 houses, including the house where a confirmed human case of plague had occurred (online Technical Appendix, http:// wwwnc.cdc.gov/EID/article/20/8/130629-Techapp1.pdf). Eight sequences (GenBank accession nos. KJ361938– KJ361945) were obtained and share 99% nucleotide homology with plasminogen ac...

Abstract Flea infestations of wild rabbits were examined monthly in central Spain a meso-Mediterranean area for 5 yr. A total 1,180 trapped and 7,022 fleas collected from them. Overall, the prevalence was 74.1% with mean flea index 5.95 per rabbit. Four species identified: Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale, 1878) most abundant (accounting 74.3% collected) followed by Xenopsylla cunicularis (Smit, 195...

Watson (1967) has shown that the synonym Lepismodes iniquilinus Newman has priority over Tliermobia domestica (Packard), but to avoid confusion in the present context the junior synonym as used previously is retained throughout this paper. The ability of Tliermobia to take up water from subsaturated atmospheres down to 45% relative humidity (R.H.) at 21 C. has been demonstrated in an earlier pa...

Male-biased parasitism is commonly found in higher vertebrates and is most likely to be a result of higher mobility and lower immunocompetence of male hosts than female hosts. The latter would result in higher fitness of parasites exploiting males rather than females. To test this hypothesis, we investigated foraging and reproductive performance of fleas (Xenopsylla ramesis) parasitizing male a...

Animals impounded by local regulatory agencies could be used as a source of ectoparasites for monitoring vectors of zoonotic pathogens. In the period between April 2004 and September 2005, 41 wild mammals were either impounded by the Corporación Autónoma Regional del Quindío (CRQ) or voluntarily delivered to this institution. The mammals represented 6 different orders and 14 species, from which...

Reproduction is an energy-demanding activity in mammalian females, with increased energy requirements during pregnancy and, especially, during lactation. To better understand the interactions between parasitism and host reproduction, we investigated feeding and reproductive performance of fleas (Xenopsylla ramesis) parasitizing non-reproducing, pregnant or lactating gerbilline rodents (Meriones...

Commensal and field rodents and wild small carnivores were live-trapped in five villages of Karatu district and one settlement in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Ngorongoro district in Tanzania. Blood samples were taken and serologically tested for plague, using the Blocking ELISA technique. Some domestic dogs and cats in the Karatu villages were aseptically bled and similarly tested for pl...