| Investigation of Bartonella acquisition and transmission in Xenopsylla ramesis fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). | Bartonella are emerging and re-emerging pathogens affecting humans and a wide variety of animals including rodents. Horizontal transmission of Bartonella species by different hematophagous vectors is well acknowledged but vertical transmission (from mother to offspring) is questionable and was never explored in fleas. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the rodent flea, Xenopsylla ramesis, can acquire native Bartonella from wild rodents and transmit it transovarially. For this aim, ... | 2011 | 21692752 |
| gerbillus nanus (rodentia: muridae): a new reservoir host of leishmania major. | gerbillus nanus blanford, 1875 known as baluchistan gerbil, is a granivorous solitary naked-footed species. no evidence of its natural infection with the protozoan parasite, leishmania, has so far been provided. cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) is a major public health problem in many parts of the world, including iran. the annual nationwide incidence of human cl due to leishmania major (clm) in endemic rural areas was above 18,000 cases in 2008. the detection of l. major in rodents is of fundamenta ... | 2011 | 22117852 |
| molecular detection of leishmania major kdna from wild rodents in a new focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in an oriental region of iran. | human cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most challenging public health issues in many tropical and subtropical countries of the world, including iran. more than half (54%) of the new zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) cases among the eastern mediterranean countries were reported from iran in 2008. the detection of leishmania parasites in rodents is essential to incriminate them as probable reservoir hosts of zcl infection. as a result of the annual detection of about 200-250 clinical zcl ... | 2012 | 22651390 |
| ectoparasitism and stress hormones: strategy of host exploitation, common host-parasite history and energetics matter. | parasites are thought to have numerous negative effects on their hosts. these negative effects may be associated with stress in a host. we evaluated the effects of four species of flea ectoparasites (parapulex chephrenis, synosternus cleopatrae, xenopsylla conformis and xenopsylla ramesis) on non-specific responses of eight species of rodents (meriones crassus, gerbillus dasyurus, gerbillus andersoni, gerbillus pyramidum, gerbillus nanus, acomys cahirinus, acomys russatus and mesocricetus auratu ... | 2014 | 24661039 |
| sex-biased parasitism, seasonality and sexual size dimorphism in desert rodents. | we investigated seasonality of gender differences in the patterns of flea infestation in nine rodent species to test if sex-biased parasitism in terms of mean abundance, species richness, prevalence and the level of aggregation (a) varies among hosts and between seasons, and (b) is linked to sexual size dimorphism. sexual size differences were significant in both summer and winter in acomys cahirinus, gerbillus pyramidum and meriones crassus, and in winter only in acomys russatus, gerbillus dasy ... | 2005 | 16025350 |
| taxonomic hypotheses regarding the genus gerbillus (rodentia, muridae, gerbillinae) based on molecular analyses of museum specimens. | methodological improvements now allow routine analyses of highly degraded dna samples as found in museum specimens. using these methods could be useful in studying such groups as rodents of the genus gerbillus for which i) the taxonomy is still highly debated, ii) collection of fresh specimens may prove difficult. here we address precise taxonomic questions using a small portion of the cytochrome b gene obtained from 45 dry skin/skull museum samples (from 1913 to 1974) originating from two afric ... | 2016 | 27047247 |
| effects of parasite pressure on parasite mortality and reproductive output in a rodent-flea system: inferring host defense trade-offs. | evaluating host resistance via parasite fitness helps place host-parasite relationships within evolutionary and ecological contexts; however, few studies consider both these processes simultaneously. we investigated how different levels of parasite pressure affect parasite mortality and reproductive success in relationship to host defense efforts, using the rodent gerbillus nanus and the flea xenopsylla conformis as a host-parasite system. fifteen immune-naïve male rodents were infested with 20, ... | 2016 | 27130319 |
| wild rodents and their ectoparasites in baluchistan area, southeast of iran. | during 2008-2009 a total of 67 individuals of rodents, tetera indica, meriones hurrianae, meriones libycus and gerbillus nanus were trapped in three areas, bampor, daman and qasre qand from iranshahr and nikshahr districts. there is a significant difference between comparative abundance of four species (p<0.05). a total of 1422 ectoparasites collected including 299 mites (21%), 127 fleas (8.9%), 972 lice (68.4%) and 24 ticks (1.7%). significant findings amongst the ectoparasites is the lice grou ... | 2013 | 23665710 |
| flea infestation does not cause a long-term increase in energy metabolism in gerbillus nanus. | fleas can increase the metabolic rate of their hosts. it has been suggested that a constitutive response, in which the host constantly maintains a relatively high level of energy metabolism to combat the parasite, is advantageous for hosts with high parasite infestation, while an induced response, in which the host increases energy metabolism in response to a parasite attack, is advantageous with low parasite infestation. as free-living gerbillus nanus show a relatively low flea infestation, we ... | 2011 | 22071187 |
| do fleas affect energy expenditure of their free-living hosts? | parasites can cause energetically costly behavioural and immunological responses which potentially can reduce host fitness. however, although most laboratory studies indicate that the metabolic rate of the host increases with parasite infestation, this has never been shown in free-living host populations. in fact, studies thus far have shown no effect of parasitism on field metabolic rate (fmr). | 2010 | 21060688 |
| a survey on endoparasites in wild rodents of the jaz murian depression and adjacent areas, southeast of iran. | in this survey, rodents and their endoparasites were investigated in the jaz murian depression and adjacent areas, southeast iran. in total, 146 specimens of rodents belong to 13 species were trapped. in general, 10 different genera of endoparasites including 11 species were collected. the endoparasites were identified as follows: (1) nematodes: trichuris muris, syphacia obvelata, labiostomum sp., labiostomum naimi, mastrophorus muris, aspicularis tetraptera and heligmosomoides skrjabini, physal ... | 2018 | 30538358 |
| faunistic study of the rodents of north khorasan province, north east of iran, 2011-2013. | rodents are one of the most important hosts for some zoonotic diseases and also act as a reservoir of some ectoparasites and endoparasites. they cause damage to the farms and inflict public health. the aim of this study was to investigate the faunal composition of rodent in north khorasan province, northeast of iran. | 2018 | 30123806 |
| a survey of mammal diversity in the turaif province, kingdom of saudi arabia. | one hundred and forty mammals of fifteen different species belonging to nine families, collected during one-year survey period in turaif province of saudi arabia, are reported. collections were made during studying the diversity of land vertebrate fauna of turaif area at the northern province of saudi arabia. cricetidae (n = 64) was the most common family. jaculus jaculus vocator (n = 34) was recorded the highest number of events for any mammal in the surveyed area followed by gerbillus nanus (n ... | 2018 | 29686525 |
| sex differences in testosterone reactivity and sensitivity in a non-model gerbil. | although testosterone (t) is a key regulator in vertebrate development, physiology, and behaviour in both sexes, studies suggest that its regulation may be sex-specific. we measured circulating t levels in baluchistan gerbils (gerbillus nanus) in the field and in the lab all year round and found no significant sex differences. however, we observed sex differences in circulating t levels following gonadotropin-releasing hormone (gnrh) challenge and t implants in this non-model species. whereas on ... | 2020 | 32027878 |
| effects of mining activities on gerbillus nanus in saudi arabia: a biochemical and histological study. | mining can impact the environment, biodiversity, and human health through direct and indirect practices. this study investigated the effects of gold mining on gerbillus nanus, in relation to organ dysfunction and redox imbalance. soil samples, lycium shawii, and g. nanus were collected from a site near a mining plant, and a control site. soil and l. shawii samples from the mining site showed significantly higher cadmium (cd), copper (cu), mercury (hg), arsenic (as), zinc (zn), lead (pb), and van ... | 2019 | 31500235 |
| molecular assessment of bartonella in gerbillus nanus from saudi arabia reveals high levels of prevalence, diversity and co-infection. | bartonellae bacteria are associated with several re-emerging human diseases. these vector-borne pathogens have a global distribution, yet data on bartonella prevalence and diversity in the arabian peninsula are limited. in this study we assessed the bartonella infection status of the baluchistan gerbil (gerbillus nanus), a species associated with pastoral communities throughout the middle east region, using a multi-gene pcr screening approach. the results demonstrated that 94 (68.1%) of the 138 ... | 2018 | 30071312 |