ABSTRACT
The fauna of rodent fleas comprises 19 species in the Terek-Kuma interfluve. Most detected parasites settle together with their hosts within and outside this area. Only gerbils and their parasites are limited to the spread in a semi-desert zone. The attribution of the fleas to various hosts, such as little sousliks, gerbils, jerboas, mice, and common voles, is not absolute and the parasites are, in addition to the principal hosts, encountered on the rodents of other species. Exchange of the parasites between different host species makes possible the passaging of pathogens of infectious diseases among them.
Subject(s)
Rodentia/parasitology , Siphonaptera/physiology , Animals , Mice , Russia , Species SpecificityABSTRACT
Ixodes ticks of the species Hyalomma marginatum are widely spread in the semidesert and steppe landscape zones of the Stavropol Territory. The circle of the main hosts for the larvae and nymphs of these ticks includes many species of wild and domestic birds, European brown hare, four-toed and eared hedgehogs. Rodents are of no great importance for ticks as a feeding source. Adult ticks parasitize on agricultural animals, domestic dogs and attack humans. The prospects of further studies of the way of life this tick in connection with its importance for infectious pathology are discussed.