Abstract
The presence of gastrointestinal helminths (GI helminths) was investigated in 68 Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) trapped in various habitats as forests, upland, lowland agricultural areas and domestic places from northern and northeastern Thailand. The study revealed that rodents were infected with 11 species or taxonomic groups of parasites (2 cestodes, 8 nematodes and 1 acanthocephalan). The prevalence of infection was 66.2% (45 infected out of 68 rats). Among GI helminths, the dominant parasites were Trichostrongylidae (33.8%) followed by Raillietina sp. (20.6%), Syphacia muris (14.7%) and Hymenolepis diminuta (11.8%). The domestic habitats showed the highest prevalence of infection (23.5%) followed by upland (17.6), lowland (16.1%) and forests (8.8%). In the same way, helminth diversity was found highest in domestic place followed by upland, lowland and forests with 8, 7, 6 and 4 species or taxonomic groups respectively. The prevalence of parasite infection and helminth species richness of R. tanezumi were found to be higher in human living places than in wild habitats or agricultural areas. Host sex and maturity were not significantly found to influence the overall prevalence of helminth infection. Finally, the following parasites Raillietina sp., Hymenolepis diminuta and Moniliformis moniliformis, causes of potentially parasitic zoonoses, were also found in domestic habitats, which appear to be risky for human exposure to helminthiasis in this region.