Antibodies against toxoplasma in commensal rodents trapped in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia.

Toxoplasma gondii, that protozoal parasite which causes toxoplasmosis, pays no respect to boundaries of Zoology and Geography. It has been reported in a large number of birds and mammals including man from nearly all over the world. In Saudi Arabia, the incidence of human infection ranges between 21% and 49.3%. In this paper, the level of antibodies against Toxoplasma in sera of different species of rodents was measured by the indirect haemagglutination tests (IHA). The seropositivities ranged between 12.5% (Mus musculus) and 41.7% (Rattus norvegicus). The overall rate of infection was 35.6%. The role played by rodents in the spreading of the Toxoplasma infection was discussed.

Babesia infection in rodents trapped in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia, with a general discussion.

Species of Babesia are intraerythrocytic protozoal parasites of many species of mammalians in all parts of the world where the tick-vectors are found. Babesiosis or piroplasmosis causes considerable damage to the livestock and other animals. Human babesiosis has been documented in many countries. Consequently, babesiosis is a zoonotic disease of medical, veterinary and economic importance. In this study, a total of 310 rodents of different species were trapped from different areas in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia. These rodents were; Rattus rattus (142), R. norvegicus (24), Mus musculus (8), Meriones crassus (56), Jaculus jaculus (16), Gerbillus cheesmani (50) and Acomys c. dimidiatus (14). Natural Babesia infection was parasitologically detected in 95 of them (30.65%). The highest infection rate was among R. rattus (34.5%). The lowest rate was among G. cheesmani (20%). None of the M. musculus was infected. Since most of these rodents are commensal ie living in close contact with man, a general discussion on the pathogenesis, immunity and diagnosis was given.

Investigation on the presence of Leishmania natural infection and antibodies among rodents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Leishmaniases whether cutaneous and/or visceral are one of the public health problems in nearly all countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The prevalence and the incidence are increasing. Control of the animal reservoir hosts in zoonotic forms is one of the best means of measures against leishmaniasis. This paper aimed to screen rodents for their role as reservoir for leishmaniasis. Natural Leishmania infection was detected in one Meriones crassus out of 3 which had cutaneous lesions. The lesion present on Gerbillus cheesmani was negative for amastigotes. Anti-leishmanial antibodies as detected by indirect haemagglutination tests (I.H.A.T.) showed reaction among the seven species of the trapped rodents. However, by interpretation of the diagnostic value of I.H.A. only three M. crassus (3/512) and one Gerbillus cheesmani (1/256) gave seropositive reactions. The whole results were discussed.