OCCURRENCE OF A RARE DIGENETIC TREMATODE (ECHINOSTOMA SP.) FOUND IN A NORWAY RAT FROM PENANG, MALAYSIA

Abstract

Trematodes commonly known as flukes are parasitic flatworms with complex life cycles, typically involving both aquatic and terrestrial hosts including rodents. The biological behaviour of these opportunistic rodents’ aids in facilitating the acquisition and development of helminth parasites including trematodes. Among the family of trematodes, the Echinostomatidae has a unique distinguishing feature between members with the presence of a distinctive head collar spined around the oral sucker. A necropsy was conducted on the wild rodent's carcasses, and the gastrointestinal sections were removed and inspected. Morphometric analyses of the cleared specimens were performed using an Olympus BX41 microscope connected to an Olympus digital camera, calibrated with an eyepiece micrometer. This study discovered a trematode species known as Echinostoma sp. from one out of 150 wild rodents examined from Penang, Malaysia. The adult of this digenetic trematode was found with 43 collar-spined was found in the small intestine of the brown Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) collected from a wet market in Penang, Malaysia. The Echinostomatidae is also well-known to cause intestinal foodborne parasitic disease, known as echinostomiasis infecting both animals and humans. This updated report on the detection of Echinostoma sp. will provide valuable insight into the occurrence and the possibility of R. norvegicus transmitting Echinostoma sp. to the local environment and aid in future prevention and reduce the risk of infection locally.