Short Communication
A survey of helminth infections in the black rat from Stara Zagora district, Bulgaria
Petar T. Iliev * ,
Georgi Zh. Georgiev ,
Zvezdelina T. Kirkova ,
Borislava G. Chakarova

Mac Vet Rev 2017; 40 (2): 177 - 182

10.1515/macvetrev-2017-0021

Received: 06 February 2017

Received in revised form: 09 May 2017

Accepted: 05 June 2017

Available Online First: 02 July 2017

Published on: 15 October 2017

Correspondence: Petar T. Iliev, petyo_todorow@abv.bg
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Abstract

A field study was conducted to disclose the prevalence of different helminth parasites in the black rat, Rattus rattus, in some regions of Stara Zagora district, Bulgaria. Out of 67 examined rats, 53 (79.1%) were found to be positive. Helminths of three classes were detected such as Cestoda: Hymenolepis diminuta (47.8%), Hymenolepis nana (43.3%), Taenia taeniaeformis larvae (7.5%), Taenia polyacantha larvae (1.5%); Secernentea: Syphacia obvelata (4.5%), Aspiculuris tetraptera (3.0%) and Adenophorea: Capillaria hepatica (9.0%), Trichuris muris (3.0%). Of all the investigated rats, 27 (40.3%) were infected by one helminth species and 26 (38.8%) by more than one. Hymenolepis diminuta was a predominant species in cases of single infections (23.9%). The most frequent co-infections were observed by H. nana and H. diminuta (16.4%).

Keywords: helminth parasites, Black rat


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Copyright

© 2017 Iliev P.T. This is an open-access article publishedunder the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License whichpermits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declared that they have no potential conflict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 40, Issue 2, Pages 177-182, p-ISSN 1409-7621, e-ISSN 1857-7415, DOI: 10.1515/macvetrev-2017-0021, 2017