A Preliminary Survey of Gastrointestinal Helminths of Murids (Rodentia: Muridae) at Five Selected Localities in Western Sarawak

Field survey of gastrointestinal helminths on rodents from family Muridae were conducted at five localities in Western Sarawak from June 2013 until April 2014. A total of 31 host individuals comprising six species of murids were examined for gastrointestinal helminths using opportunistic necropsy. The hosts examined were Leopoldamys sabanus, Maxomys rajah, M. surifer, M. whiteheadi, Niviventer cremoriventer and Sundamys muelleri. Of these host species, 186 individuals consisting of two taxonomic groups of helminths were recovered, namely Nematoda and Cestoda. This study contributes to the growing literature on the infestation of endoparasites in rodents especially in Sarawak

A survey of gastrointestinal helminths of rodents from family muridae and its potential zoonotic implications to human

Research on the role of parasites through contamination on human being and wildlife animals remains largely undersudied in Malaysia. This survey was conducted to identify gastrointestinal helminths found in the host of family Muridae from five different localities and to compile literatures on zoonotic diseases pertaining to gastroinstestinal helminths based on published literatures. The samplings were conducted at Bako National Park, Ku bah National Park, Ma tang Wildlife Centre, Tanjung Datu National Park and Uni mas Arboretum from June 2013 until April 2014 with three to seven consecutive days of sampling with 2300 (total number of traps x total days of sampli11g) sampling efforts. A total of 31 rodents were trapped and examined for gastrointestinal helminths. There were 187 individuals of helminths that were discovered with member of Class Nematoda and Cestoda. Nematodes and cestodes were known to have potential zoonotic implications to human. This study provides new information to enhance our understanding about the emergence and management of potential zoonotic diseases in Malaysia

Rodent species distribution and hantavirus seroprevalence in residential and forested areas of Sarawak, Malaysia

Rodents belong to the order Rodentia, which consists of three families in Borneo (i.e., Muridae, Sciuridae and Hystricidae). These include rats, mice, squirrels, and porcupines. They are widespread throughout the world and considered pests that harm humans and livestock. Some rodent species are natural reservoirs of hantaviruses (Family: Bunyaviridae) that can cause zoonotic diseases in humans. Although hantavirus seropositive human sera were reported in Peninsular Malaysia in the early 1980s, information on their infection in rodent species in Malaysia is still lacking. The rodent populations in residential and forested areas in Sarawak were sampled. A total of 108 individuals from 15 species of rodents were collected in residential (n = 44) and forested (n = 64) areas. The species diversity of rodents in forested areas was significantly higher (H = 2.2342) compared to rodents in residential areas (H = 0.64715) (p < 0.001 of Zar-t test based on the Shannon index). Rattus rattus and Sundamys muelleri were present at high frequencies in both localities. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that hantavirus-targeting antibodies were absent from 53 tested serum samples. This is the first report of hantavirus seroprevalence surveillance in rodent populations in Sarawak, East Malaysia. The results suggested that hantavirus was not circulating in the studied rodent populations in Sarawak, or it was otherwise at a low prevalence that is below the detection threshold. It is important to remain vigilant because of the zoonotic potential of this virus and its severe disease outcome. Further studies, such as molecular detection of viral genetic materials, are needed to fully assess the risk of hantavirus infection in rodents and humans in this region of Malaysia