Abstract:
Poor socio-economic and unsanitary conditions are conducive to commensal rodent
infestations, and these conditions are widespread in South Africa. Cestode species of
zoonotic interest are highly prevalent in commensal rodents, such as invasive Rattus
norvegicus, Rattus rattus, Rattus tanezumi, and indigenous Mastomys coucha, and
have been frequently recovered from human stool samples. These cestode species
have similar transmission dynamics to traditional soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), which
ties them to infections associated with poverty and poor sanitation. Univariate analysis
was used in the present study to determine the association between rodent-related
factors and cestode prevalence, while ecological niche modelling was used to infer
the potential distribution of the cestode species in South Africa. Cestode prevalence
was found to be associated with older rodents, but it was not significantly associated
with sex, and ectoparasite presence. The predicted occurrence for rodent-borne
cestodes predominantly coincided with large human settlements, typically associated
with significant anthropogenic changes. In addition, cestode parasite occurrence was
predicted to include areas both inland and along the coast. This is possibly related
to the commensal behaviour of the rodent hosts. The study highlights the rodentrelated
factors associated with the prevalence of parasites in the host community,
as well as the environmental variables associated with parasite infective stages that
influence host exposure. The application of geospatial modelling together with univariate
analysis to predict and explain rodent-borne parasite prevalence may be useful to inform
management strategies for targeted interventions.
