Echinostome infections in the striped-field mouse, Apodemus agrarius, and the Ussuri white-toothed shrew, Crocidura lasiura, caught near the demilitarized zone, Gyeonggi-do (Province), Republic of Korea.
A total of 1,498 small mammals (rodents and insectivores), including Apodemus agrarius (n = 1,366), Crocidura lasiura (54), Mus musculus (32), Micronytus fortis (28), Eothenomys regulus (9), Micronys minutes (6), and Cricetulus triton (3), were live-trapped in Gyeonggi-do (Province) (Paju-si, Pocheon-gun, and Yeoncheon-gun) near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) from December 2004 to September 2005. A. agrarius was found to be infected with 3 species of echinostomes (Echinostoma hortense, Echinostoma cinetorchis, and Euparyphium murinum), while C. lasiura was infected with 1 species (Echinochasmus japonicas) of echinostome. Other mammals were free from echinostome infections. Total 16 E. hortense were detected in 7 (0.5%) mice, 9 E. cinetorchis from 5 (0.4%), and 3 E. murinum from 2 (0.1%) out of 1.366 A. agrarius examined. E. japonicus was found only in 1 (1.9%; total 3 specimens) C. lasiura. These results demonstrate that A. agrarius and C. lasiura, inhabiting near the DMZ of Gyeonggi-do serve as the natural definitive hosts for several species of echinostomes, although their infection rates are low. This is the first record of natural infections of A. agrarius with E. cinetorchis and C. lasiura with E. japonicus in the Republic of Korea.
Chai
Jong-Yil
JY
Department of Parasitology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Korea. cjy@snu.ac.kr
Park
Jae-Hwan
JH
Jung
Bong-Kwang
BK
Guk
Sang-Mee
SM
Kim
Jae-Lip
JL
Shin
Eun-Hee
EH
Klein
Terry A
TA
Kim
Heung-Chul
HC
Chong
Sung-Tae
ST
Baek
Luck Ju
LJ
Song
Jin-Won
JW
D000818:Animals; D004449:Echinostoma / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004451:Echinostomiasis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007312:Eulipotyphla / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D051379:Mice; D051189:Murinae / Q000469:parasitology; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D012377:Rodentia; D012788:Shrews / Q000469:parasitology