@conference {95757, title = {PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS IN WILD RATS}, booktitle = {9th Proceedings of the Seminar on Veteinary Sciences}, year = {2014}, month = {Feb 2014}, publisher = {Universiti Putra Malaysia Press}, organization = {Universiti Putra Malaysia Press}, address = {Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UPM, 24 - 28 February 2014}, abstract = {

Rats are the most widespread pest species and well-known to transmit zoonotic disease agents and cause destruction to the environment. In this study, twenty rodents were trapped by using wire traps baited with various baits in Serdang, Sepang, Seremban and Rembau, Malaysia. The locations represented the urban and suburban habitats and distribution of rodents. Three rat species and one shrew species were trapped from these habitats. There was no significant (p\>0.05) difference in bait preference by the rats from either habitat. No Salmonella was detected in the rodents. Seventy-five percent of the rodents were found to be infested
with at least one of nine different types of ectoparasites identified. All rodents (100\%) were infested with at least one type of endoparasites. There was significant (p\<0.05) difference in parasitic distribution between habitats, with urban rats more infested with ectoparasites. Among the parasites of potential medical importance identified were Polyplax spinulosa, Hoplopleura pacifica and Ornithonyssus bacoti. In conclusion, the species parasites of rats were partly determined by the nature of their habitats. Also, the rodents live in close proximity to human especially in urban areas and they carry organisms that may be detrimental to the health of humans and other animals. Thus, appropriate measures are needed to control the rodent Phthirpopulation to prevent the spread of diseases to humans and other animals.

}, keywords = {bait preference, ectoparasites, Endoparasites, public health, rat infestation, Salmonella}, url = {https://vet.upm.edu.my/upload/dokumen/202109061032299th_Proceedings_of_the_Seminar_on_Veterinary_Sciences.pdf}, author = {Nur Ain Shafiqah Mohd-Said and Mohd Azmi Mohd-Lila and S.M. Amin-Babjee and Abdul Rahim Mutalib and Abdul Rani Bahaman and Zeenathul Nazariah Allaudin} } @article {95120, title = {Interaction of ectoparasites-small mammals in tropical rainforest of Malaysia}, year = {2014}, abstract = {

The literature regarding the diversity of ectoparasites and their interaction with their hosts remains largely inadequate in Malaysian tropical rainforest. We investigate the interaction patterns and specialization of ectoparasites infesting terrestrial small mammals (rodents and scandents) in Peninsular and Malaysian Borneo from samples made in 16 localities between 2008 and 2010. A total of 3,235 individuals of ectoparasites were collected during field surveys, resulting in an interaction network involving 47 ectoparasites that were distributed on 23 species of small mammals. The overall specialization index H2\’ of all ectoparasites and host species was 0.67 which was considered moderate. Ticks appeared to be generalist with specialization index (H2\’ = 0.35) while lice showed higher specialization (H2\’ = 1) in selecting host species. The most diverse parasite assemblage was found on S. muelleri (Hs_w = 1.96). Specialization indices among ectoparasite species (dp) ranged from 0.03 to 1 while the indices among host species (dh) ranged from 0.20 to 1. Incomplete field data may have contributed to the high specialization indices. This study is significant as it can enhance our understanding the emergence and management of potential zoonotic diseases in Malaysia.

}, keywords = {Host-ectoparasite, rodents, Scandents, Specialization index, Zoonotic disease}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.15.2014.1.12}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1556/ComEc.15.2014.1.12}, author = {Madinah, Adrus and Fatimah, Abang and Mariana, Ahamad and Mohd-Tajuddin Abdullah and Jayasilan Mohd-Azlan} } @article {94795, title = {Fragmented mitochondrial genomes of the rat lice, Polyplax asiatica and Polyplax spinulosa: intra-genus variation in fragmentation pattern and a possible link between the extent of fragmentation and the length of life cycle}, journal = {BMC Genomics}, volume = {15}, year = {2014}, month = {01-2014}, pages = {44}, abstract = {

Background: Blood-sucking lice (suborder Anoplura) parasitize eutherian mammals with 67\% of the 540 described species found on rodents. The five species of blood-sucking lice that infest humans and pigs have fragmented mitochondrial genomes and differ substantially in the extent of fragmentation. To understand whether, or not,
any life-history factors are linked to such variation, we sequenced the mt genomes of Polyplax asiatica and Polyplax spinulosa, collected from the greater bandicoot rat, Bandicota indica, and the Asian house rat, Rattus tanezumi, respectively.
Results: We identified all of the 37 mitochondrial genes common to animals in Polyplax asiatica and Polyplax spinulosa. The mitochondrial genes of these two rat lice are on 11 circular minichromosomes; each minichromosome is 2\–4 kb long and has 2\–7 genes. The two rat lice share the same pattern for the distribution of the protein-coding genes and ribosomal RNA genes over the minichromosomes, but differ in the pattern for the distribution of 8 of the 22 transfer RNA genes. The mitochondrial genomes of the Polyplax rat lice have 3.4 genes, on average, on each minichromosome and, thus, are less fragmented than those of the human lice (2.1 and 2.4 genes per minichromosome), but are more fragmented than those of the pig lice (4.1 genes per minichromosome).
Conclusions: Our results revealed distinct patterns of mitochondrial genome fragmentation within the genus Polyplax and, furthermore, indicated a possible inverse link between the extent of mitochondrial genome fragmentation and the length of life cycle of the blood-sucking lice.

}, keywords = {Chromosome evolution, genome fragmentation, minichromosome, Mitochondrial genome, sucking lice}, issn = {1471-2164}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2164-15-44}, url = {http://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2164-15-44}, author = {Dong,Wen-ge and Simon Song and Dao-chao Jin and Guo,Xian-guo and Renfu Shao} }