The occurrence of the larval cestode Cysticercus fasciolaris in rodent populations from the Cuxtal ecological reserve, Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

Cysticercus fasciolaris is the larval stage of the cestode Taenia taeniaeformis, whose definitive hosts are mainly cats. This larval stage uses a wide variety of small rodents, and occasionally birds and humans, as intermediate hosts. In the Yucatan, there are no reports of the presence of this cestode in animal populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of C. fasciolaris in rodent populations from the Cuxtal ecological reserve, Yucatan, Mexico. Trapping of rodents was conducted from October 2009 to April 2010 in 40 households in Molas, in which Sherman traps were placed both inside and outside backyards. Rodents were dissected to inspect the liver for the presence of the worm. To determine risk factors associated with infection, univariate analysis was performed using sex, age, species, trapping site, and season as independent variables. Variables with a P value < 0.2 were analysed using a logistic regression model. In this study, 411 individuals of six rodent species were trapped; Mus musculus was the most abundant (78%), followed by Rattus rattus (13%) and the wild species Peromyscus yucatanicus, Ototylomys phyllotis, Heteromys gaumeri and Reithrodontomys gracilis (9%). Only 7.5% (n = 31) of M. musculus and R. rattus were infected with C. fasciolaris (demonstrated by the presence of liver cysts) with a prevalence of 9.0% and 3.5%, respectively. Both adults and male mice were 4.33 and 3.46 (OR values) times more likely to have C. fasciolaris than juveniles and females respectively. We can conclude that in the Cuxtal Reserve, Yucatan, Mexico, the prevalence of C. fasciolaris is higher in M. musculus, and that adult males had a higher probability of infection. Wild species, mainly P. yucatanicus, were not found to be infected with the cestode, but its presence in the backyards of households could result in a potential risk of acquiring this infection.

Natural Cysticercus fasciolaris infection in rodents from a rural area in Yucatan, Mexico

“…Cysticercus fasciolaris has been previously found in this species in a rural community in Yucatan. 24 This discrepancy between results could relate to genetic variations of the C. fasciolaris populations and their inherent ability to infect intermediate hosts. In effect, Brandt and Sewell reported distinct infectivity of four T. taeniaeformis isolates in mice and rats.…”

“…16 Cysticercus fasciolaris infection has been reported in urban and wild rodents from Brazil, 17 Korea, 18 Egypt, 19 India, 20 Malaysia, 21 Thailand, 22 and Mexico. [23][24][25] Rodents from the R. rattus and M. musculus species have been found infected with C. fasciolaris, in Yucatan. 25 It is still unknown however if wild indigenous rodent species also act as intermediate hosts.…”

Reappraisal of Hydatigera taeniaeformis (Batsch, 1786) (Cestoda: Taeniidae) sensu lato with description of Hydatigera kamiyai n. sp.

“…have been recorded in murines across the New World (e.g. Rodríguez-Vivas et al, 2011;Duque et al, 2012; museum specimens in the Arctos database, e.g. http://arctos.database.museum/guid/HWML:Para:10302).…”

A Survey of Helminth Infections in the Black Rat from Stara Zagora District, Bulgaria

“…In our investigation, the access of stray cats into animal buildings is limited. Larvae of T. taeniaeformis among population of R. rattus was found to vary between 3.5% and 4.34% (26,27).…”