Parasite fauna of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) in an urban region of Germany: reservoir host of zoonotic metazoan parasites?

Abstract

In the present study, 29 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) were studied for their endo- and ectoparasite fauna. The rodents were trapped in Dormagen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A total of ten different parasite species were identified: four endoparasite (four Nematoda) and six ectoparasite (three Insecta, three Arachnida) species. The predominant endoparasite was the nematode Aonchotheca murissylvatici, followed by the nematode Heligmosomum costellatum, while the flea Ctenophthalmus agyrtes was the dominant ectoparasite. C. glareolus usually carried one to five different parasite species (mean 2.2). The bank voles were infected only by Nematoda, while Digenea or Cestoda species were not detected. The present findings are in clear contrast to the results obtained in other geographical regions of Germany and Europe, where eight different Cestoda species constituted the main part of the helminth parasites in C. glareolus. In the area investigated, the bank voles harbored no zoonotic parasites, and therefore, they play not a role as potential reservoir host for these parasite species.

The helminth parasites of two sympatric species of the genus Apodemus (Rodentia, Muridae) from south-eastern Slovakia

“…The nine helminth species recorded from both rodents represented a relatively impoverished helminth community, but was in agreement with Klimpel et al (2007a) who obtained similar results for A. flavicollis from Germany with ten helminth species detected, though with a different community structure. Similar species-poor parasite communities were previously reported also for A. sylvaticus (Montgomery and Montgomery 1990, Behnke et al 1999, Abu-Madi et al 2000 and Myodes glareolus (Behnke et al 2001(Behnke et al , 2008Klimpel et al 2007b). In comparison, sixteen helminth species (3 trematodes, 7 cestodes and 6 nematodes) were reported in A. agrarius from Belorussian Polesie (Shimalov 2002).…”

Reduced helminth parasitism in the introduced bank vole ( Myodes glareolus ): More parasites lost than gained

“…Across Europe bank voles are known to carry between 3 and 14 helminth species. The lower record from Germany ( Klimpel et al., 2007a ; Table 5 ) came from a small sample of animals (29) from an urban setting, which may account for the low species diversity recorded. The present study analysed 177 animals across two years in two sites, and found that bank voles in Ireland are infected with only three helminth species.…”

“…The cestode T. martis requires two host species to complete its lifecycle. Intermediate hosts include a variety of rodent species ( Klimpel et al., 2007a , Loos-Frank and Zeyhle, 1982 ) and definitive hosts in Europe include badgers ( Meles meles ) and foxes ( Vulpes vulpes ) ( Loos-Frank and Zeyhle, 1982 ). As both badgers and foxes are found in Ireland ( Montgomery et al., 2014 ), either or both of these species may act as the definitive host for T. martis enabling its establishment in Ireland.…”

The importance of multiparasitism: examining the consequences of co-infections for human and animal health

“…Some rodent species, for example, are ubiquitous and may thus serve as bridges between many different environments and parasite populations. As a consequence, some rodent species have higher parasite loads and have been described as “good vessels” for parasites [ 32 , 33 ]. At present, the world is growing smaller as a result of expanding transportation networks (planes, boats etc.…”