A comparative study of the rat populations and abundance of oriental rat fleas, plague vector in the Thailand-Malaysia border crossing areas, 2016-2018

Authors

  • วิชุตา บุษบงค์ Office of Disease Prevention and Control Region 12, Songkhla
  • บงกช เชี่ยวชาญยนต์ Office of Disease Prevention and Control Region 12, Songkhla
  • นิด รักแจ้ง Office of Disease Prevention and Control Region 12, Songkhla
  • สงฆ์ ไพบูลย์ Office of Disease Prevention and Control Region 12, Songkhla

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14456/dcj.2019.3

Keywords:

rat, rat flea, flea index, Thailand-Malaysia border crossing areas

Abstract

Rat is a mammal that plays a major role in the transmission of infectious diseases and reservoirs host responsible for zoonotic diseases, which still remain a public health concern throughout the world, including Thailand. The objective of this survey was to examine the rat populations, other reservoir hosts and fleas abundance, represented as total flea index. The survey was conducted at the Thailand-Malaysia land border crossing areas in eight points of entry located in the four southern border provinces. Research method was retrospective descriptive study using the animal reservoir survey form from 2015 to 2018. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that rat trapping success rates in 2016, 2017, and 2018 were 17.91, 22.38, and 21.00 percent, respectively. The highest trap success rate was 44.00 percent, which was documented at Wang Prachan border crossing area in 2018. Three rat species (Rattas tanezumi, R. norvegicus and R. exulans) and one shrew species (Suncus murinus) were found at these sites. The highest number of captured rats were R. norvegicus (54.55%) at Padang Besar border crossing area in 2016, R. norvegicus (78.57%) at Sadao border crossing area in 2017, and both Sadao and Padang Besar border crossings registered the highest number of R. norvegicus (50.00%) in 2018. R. exulans (50.00%) was captured at Wang Prachan border crossing area more than the other sites in 2018. The total flea index was <1 in the eight different habitats. These data could be useful for the control of rodent and rat flea populations in each specific habitat.

References

1. Bureau of General Communicable Disease, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health. Rats population survey and control. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Printing House; 2010. (in Thai)

2. Plant Protection Research and Development Office, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. Rats [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2018 Oct 17]. Available from: http://www.doa.go.th/pibai/pibai/n14/v_5-june/ceaksong.html (in Thai)

3. Bevins SN, Baroch JA, Nolte DL, Zhang M, He H. Yersinia pestis: examining wildlife plague surveillance in China and the USA. Integr Zool 2012;7: 99-109.

4. Siriarayapon P, Tangkanakul W, Chuxnum T, Tantinimitkun C, Ratsawong S, Ratanarat P, et al. International Health Regulations (2005). 3rd ed. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Printing House; 2013. (in Thai)

5. Bureau of General Communicable Disease, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health. Plague. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Printing House; 2010. (in Thai)

6. Nyirenda SS, Hang'ombe BM, Mulenga E, Kilonzo BS. Serological and PCR investigation of Yersinia pestis in potential reservoir hosts from a plague outbreak focus in Zambia. BMC Res Notes 2017;10:1-6.

7. Joshi K, Thakur JS, Kumar R, Singh AJ, Ray P, Jain S, et al. Epidemiological features of pneumonic plague outbreak in Himachal Pradesh, India. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2009;103:455-60.

8. Dennis DT, Gage KL. Plague manual: epidemiology, distribution, surveillance and control. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1999.

9. Bureau of General Communicable Disease, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health. Port, Airport, Ground crossing database, Thailand [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2019 Jan 23]. Available from: http://164.115.25.123/pagth/index.php?psend=pagth_home&id=35 (in Thai)

10. Chiewchanyont B, Saejiw O, Rakchaeng N. A study of Leptospira Seroprevalence in rodent Hatyai City Municipality, Songkhla Province. Institute for Urban Disease Control and Prevention Journal 2018;3:42-50. (in Thai)

11. Rivière-Cinnamond A, Santandreu A, Luján A, Mertens F, Espinoza JO, Carpio Y, et al. Identifying the social and environmental determinants of plague endemicity in Peru: insights from a case study in Ascope, La Libertad. BMC Public Health 2018;18:1-11.

12. Amélie DL, Baldi M, Walter T, Zink R, Walzer C. Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in urban ecosystems: are the constraints related to fieldwork a limit to their study?. Urban Ecosystem 2018;21:951-64.

13. Prasartvit A, Laorakpong P, Cheewakriengkrai S. Vector survey in the airport and the aircraft form the epidemiological affected area at Suvannaphumi International Airport. Bangkok: National Research Council of Thailand; 2007. (in Thai)

14. Kosoy M, Khlyap L, Cosson JF, Morand S. Aboriginal and invasive rats of genus Rattus as hosts of infectious agents. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2015;15:3-12.

15. Thai Meteorological Department, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society. Weather [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2018 Oct 31]. Available from: https://www.tmd.go.th/province_weather_stat.php?StationNumber=48568 (in Thai)

16. Chotelersak K, Apiwathnasorn C, Sungvornyothin S, Panasoponkul C, Samung Y, Ruangsittichai J. Correlation of host specificity, environmental factors and oriental rat flea abundance. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 2015;46:198-206.

17. Billeter SA, Colton L, Sangmaneedet S, Suksawat F, Evans BP, Kosoy MY. Short report: Molecular detection and identification of Bartonella species in rat fleas from Northeastern Thailand. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2013:89:426-5.

18. Pham HV, Dang DT, Tran Minh NN, Nguyen ND, Nguyen TV. Correlates of environmental factors and human plague: an ecological study in Vietnam. Int J Epidemiol 2009;38:1634-41.

Downloads

Published

2019-06-26

How to Cite

1.
บุษบงค์ ว, เชี่ยวชาญยนต์ บ, รักแจ้ง น, ไพบูลย์ ส. A comparative study of the rat populations and abundance of oriental rat fleas, plague vector in the Thailand-Malaysia border crossing areas, 2016-2018. Dis Control J [Internet]. 2019 Jun. 26 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];45(2):125-3. Available from: https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/DCJ/article/view/153289

Issue

Section

Original Article