Ectoparasites of some rodents from the edge of the Western Desert near Alexandria, Egypt

Four species and subspecies of rats and mice (Rattus norvegiens, Arvicanthis niloticus itiloticus, Mus nntscitlus and R. r. frugivorus) were found associated with a new irrigated area, El-Galaa, about 55 km from the edge of the desert near Alexandria, Egypt. Ectoparasites recovered from these hosts were three species of fleas (the Oriental rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis Rothschild, the human flea Pulex irritami Linnaeus, and the cat flea Ctenoeephalides felis felis Bouche), three species of sucking lice (Polyplax spinulosa Burmeister, Polyplax ahyssiniea Ferris, and Hoplopleura capitosa Johnson), and five species of mites (Ornithonyssus bacati Hirst, Laelaps keeaani, Dermanyssus spp„ Haentolaelaps spp. and Echinolae-laps echidninus Berlese). Records showed that the lice were the most abundant ectoparasites (39.03%) recovered from their rodent hosts, followed by the mite species (36.82%) and finally the fleas (24.1%,). Lice in general and fleas (especially X. cheopis) showed a certain degree of host specificity as compared to other ectoparasites. A close correlation has been shown to exist between the incidence of flea and lice species (but not the mite species) and the incidence of some rodents.