OCCURANCE OF HYMENOLEPIS DIMINUTA IN RATS AND MICE CAPTURED FROM URBAN LOCALITIES OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN

M. S. Ahmad, A. Maqbool*, A. A. Anjum**, N. Ahmad*, M. R Khan***, R. Sultana and M. A. Ali**

Livestock and Dairy Development Department, 16-Cooper Road, Lahore, Punjab
*Department of Parasitology, **Department of Microbiology, ***Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore
Corresponding Author e-mail: asad.ali@uvas.edu.pk

ABSTRACT

Prevalence of Hymenolepis diminuta, a zoonotic parasite was determined in rodents captured from three urban localities of Lahore, city. Rats and mice (n=3600) were trapped for one year on monthly basis from residential areas of human beings and identified as Rattus rattus (n=3190) and Mus musculus (n=410) on the basis of morphological characters. Overall prevalence of H. diminuta determined by coprological technique in rodents was 35.4 percent and non-significant difference was observed in relation to different localities. The highest (48.0%) month-wise prevalence of H. diminuta was found during August whereas the lowest (28.0%) during January. The highest (45.4%) season-wise prevalence was noted during summer followed by spring (35.1%) while the lowest (29.3%) during winter. Infection was higher in males (43.8%) than females (29.3%). Adult rats and mice were more commonly affected than younger ones. Infection was higher in rats (37.3%) than mice (20.2%). Rodents were captured from human populated areas and presence of zoonotic parasite may be a threat of infection to human beings.
Key words: Occurance, Hymenolepis diminuta,Rat, Mice and Urban localities