Publication: Correlation of host specificity, environmental factors and oriental rat flea abundance
Issued Date
2015-01-01
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ISSN
01251562
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2-s2.0-84944872934
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Mahidol University
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SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. Vol.46, No.2 (2015), 198-206
Suggested Citation
Kruawan Chotelersak, Chamnarn Apiwathnasorn, Sungsit Sungvornyothin, Chotechuang Panasoponkul, Yudthana Samung, Jiraporn Ruangsittichai Correlation of host specificity, environmental factors and oriental rat flea abundance. Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. Vol.46, No.2 (2015), 198-206. Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/36579
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Title
Correlation of host specificity, environmental factors and oriental rat flea abundance
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Abstract
© 2015, Southeast Asian Journal of Medicine and Public Health. All rights reserved. Fleas are the vectors of many communicable diseases that are normally found in oriental rats. Climate and environmental changes influence the habitat and migration patterns of vectors. In this study, the oriental rat flea abundance, represented as total flea index, was determined in correlation to host specificity and various environmental factors. The number of hosts and fleas calculated from 3 specific habitats (shipping area, decayed area, and market area) from July 2010 to June 2011. The results showed that the common hosts in the shipping area and decayed area were Rattus rattus and R. exulans, with the total flea indexes of 3.36 and 1.58. R. norvegicus was the most common host identified in the market area. Fleas were virtually absent in rat hosts collected from the market area. Both the density of reservoir hosts and the total flea index were positively correlated with the mean annual rainfall and temperature. These data could be useful for control of rat populations in each specific habitat.