New host, geographical records, and factors affecting the prevalence of helminths infection from synanthropic rodents in Yucatán, Mexico

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to study the occurrence of helminths in <i>Mus musculus</i> and <i>Rattus rattus</i> from urban, suburban and rural settlements in Yucatán, Mexico; and to analyse the host factors (e.g. sex) related to helminths' distribution. Helminths in a total of 279 rodents were surveyed by visual examination of the liver for metacestodes and faecal examination for helminth eggs using the formalin-ethyl acetate sedimentation technique. The cestodes <i>Hydatigera taeniaeformis</i> (metacestodes detected in the liver) and <i>Hymenolepis diminuta</i>, and the nematodes <i>Aspiculuris</i> sp., <i>Nippostrongylus brasiliensis</i>, <i>Syphacia muris</i>, <i>Syphacia obvelata</i>, and <i>Trichuris muris</i> were identified. In <i>M. musculus</i>, the prevalence of infection with <i>T. muris</i> and <i>H. taeniaeformis</i> was higher in the rural village compared to those in the suburban neighbourhood. For <i>R. rattus</i>, a higher prevalence of infection with <i>H. diminuta</i> was found in the urban site compared to that in the suburban site. This study reports the occurrence of <i>H. diminuta</i> among rodents living in close proximity to humans, representing a potential public health risk. In addition, this survey increases our understanding of dynamic transmission among intestinal helminths recorded in Yucatán, Mexico.