Intestinal nematodes from small mammals captured near the demilitarized zone, Gyeonggi province, Republic of Korea.
A total of 1,708 small mammals (1,617 rodents and 91 soricomorphs), including Apodemus agrarius (n = 1,400), Microtus fortis (167), Crocidura lasiura (91), Mus musculus (32), Myodes (= Eothenomys) regulus (9), Micromys minutus (6), and Tscherskia (= Cricetulus) triton (3), were live-trapped at US/Republic of Korea (ROK) military training sites near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Paju, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province from December 2004 to December 2009. Small mammals were examined for their intestinal nematodes by necropsy. A total of 1,617 rodents (100%) and 91 (100%) soricomorphs were infected with at least 1 nematode species, including Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, Syphacia obvelata, Heterakis spumosa, Protospirura muris, Capillaria spp., Trichuris muris, Rictularia affinis, and an unidentified species. N. brasiliensis was the most common species infecting small mammals (1,060; 62.1%) followed by H. polygyrus (617; 36.1%), S. obvelata (370; 21.7%), H. spumosa (314; 18.4%), P. muris (123; 7.2%), and Capillaria spp. (59; 3.5%). Low infection rates (0.1-0.8%) were observed for T. muris, R. affinis, and an unidentified species. The number of recovered worms was highest for N. brasiliensis (21,623 worms; mean 20.4 worms/infected specimen) followed by S. obvelata (9,235; 25.0 worms), H. polygyrus (4,122; 6.7 worms), and H. spumosa (1,160; 3.7 worms). A. agrarius demonstrated the highest prevalence for N. brasiliensis (70.9%), followed by M. minutus (50.0%), T. triton (33.3%), M. fortis (28.1%), M. musculus (15.6%), C. lasiura (13.2%), and M. regulus (0%). This is the first report of nematode infections in small mammals captured near the DMZ in ROK.
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea ; Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Chonan 330-714, Korea.
Deok-Gyu
DG
Kim
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
Jae-Hwan
JH
Park
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
Jae-Lip
JL
Kim
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
Bong-Kwang
BK
Jung
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
Sarah Jiyoun
SJ
Jeon
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
Hyemi
H
Lim
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
Mi Youn
MY
Lee
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea ; Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam 463-707, Korea.
Eun-Hee
EH
Shin
Public Health Command Region-Pacific Unit 45006, APO AP 96343, USA.
Terry A
TA
Klein
5 th Medical Detachment, 168 th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, 65 th Medical Brigade, Unit 15247, APO AP 96205-5247, USA.
Heung-Chul
HC
Kim
5 th Medical Detachment, 168 th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, 65 th Medical Brigade, Unit 15247, APO AP 96205-5247, USA.
Sung-Tae
ST
Chong
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul 136-705, Korea.
Jin-Won
JW
Song
Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul 136-705, Korea.
Luck-Ju
LJ
Baek
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
Jong-Yil
JY
Chai
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D007312:Eulipotyphla / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006376:Helminths / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007422:Intestines / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012377:Rodentia / Q000469:parasitology*
Capillaria spp.; Heligmosomoides polygyrus; Heterakis spumosa; Nippostrongylus brasiliensis; Protospirura muris; Rictularia affinis; Syphacia obvelata; Trichuris muris; insectivore; nematode; rodent