title: Helminth parasites of Natal long-fingered bats, Miniopterus natalensis (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae), South Africa.
abstract: The helminth community infecting Miniopterus natalensis was studied at two localities, the De Hoop Nature Reserve (DHNR) (n = 57), Western Cape Province and Pretoria (n = 12), Gauteng Province, South Africa. Hosts from the DHNR had formed part of an earlier, unrelated study and were all pregnant females. A single hymenolepidid cestode species, the nematodes Molinostrongylus ornatus and Litomosa chiropterorum together with nematodes of the subfamily Capillariinae were present at both study sites, while a single digenean, Allassogonoporus sp., was only found in hosts from the DHNR. The prevalence of helminth infections was high at both localities, 68.4% in the DHNR and 77.7% in Pretoria, whereas the mean intensity of infection was low at the DHNR (3.76 +/- 3.15), but higher in Pretoria (10.4 +/- 9.9). Molinostrongylus ornatus and, to a lesser extent L. chiropterorum, were the main contributors to the higher intensities in Pretoria. The species richness ranged from 0 to 4 at both localities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Junker
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bain
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boomker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002589:Cestoda / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002590:Cestode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D006374:Helminthiasis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006376:Helminths / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009348:Nematoda / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D010802:Phylogeny; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013045:Species Specificity