title: Ectoparasite fauna of rodents collected from two wildlife research centres in Saudi Arabia with discussion on the implications for disease transmission.
abstract: The majority of human pathogens are zoonotic and rodents play an important role as reservoirs of many of these infectious agents. In the case of vector-borne pathogens, rodent reservoirs not only act as a source of infection for vectors but also serve as hosts for the vectors themselves, supporting their populations. Current data on rodent-ectoparasite relationships is limited in Saudi Arabia, however, this is needed to assess disease risk and the relative importance of different hosts for the maintenance of vector-borne pathogen cycles. In order to provide baseline data for the region that could be used to assess zoonotic disease risk, we collected and identified 771 ectoparasite specimens (ticks, fleas and mites) from 161 rodents at two wildlife research centres in Saudi Arabia and discuss our results in the context of possible zoonotic disease risk based on the hosts and vectors present.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zoology Building, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.harrison@abdn.ac.uk.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa.
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Robb
authors.affiliation: KSU Mammals Research Chair, Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; Saudi Wildlife Authority, Riyadh 11575, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Alagaili
authors.affiliation: Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Hastriter
authors.affiliation: United States National Tick Collection, Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460-8056 USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Apanaskevich
authors.affiliation: ARC - Plant Protection Research Institute, Private Bag X134, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Ueckermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa; KSU Mammals Research Chair, Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000469:parasitology; D004199:Disease Vectors; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006801:Humans; D008925:Mites; D012377:Rodentia / Q000469:parasitology*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D005423:Siphonaptera; D013987:Ticks; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission*
keywords: Fleas; Host–ectoparasite interactions; Mites; Rodents; Saudi Arabia; Ticks