Helminths and stomach contents of roof rats, Rattus rattus, captured in urban buildings in Tokyo

Abstract

Helminthological survey on roof rats, Rattus rattus, was carried out o on rats captured from urban buildings in Tokyo. Helminths were detected from 84 out of 200 roof rats autopsied, and seven species were obtained from the infecected rats, including the nematodes of Capillaria hepatica, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Protospirura muris, Syphacia muris, and the cestodes of Cysticercus fasciolaris, Hymenolepis nana and H. dimininuta. A fragment of German cockroach, Blattella germanica, which may be an intermediate host of P. muris, H. nana and H. diminuta, was detected in the small intestine of a rat. Plant materials and animal materials in stomach contents of roof rats captured in a building located Shinjuku in Tokyo, were 65.0% And 17.2% in volume, respectively. Main plant materials were cereals and their products.