Hymenolepis nana and Hymenolepis diminuta are globally widespread zoonotic cestodes. Rodents are the main reservoir host of these cestodes. Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) are the best known and most common rats, and usually live wherever humans live, especially in less than desirable hygiene conditions. Due to the little information of the 2 hymenolepidid species in brown rats in China, the aim of this study was to understand the prevalence and genetic characterization of H. nana and H. diminuta in brown rats in Heilongjiang Province, China. Total 114 fecal samples were collected from brown rats in Heilongjiang Province. All the samples were subjected to morphological examinations by microscopy and genetic analysis by PCR amplification of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene and the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene. In total, 6.1% (7/114) and 14.9% (17/114) of samples were positive for H. nana and H. diminuta, respectively. Among them, 7 and 3 H. nana isolates were successfully amplified and sequenced at the COX1 and ITS2 loci, respectively. No nucleotide variations were found among H. nana isolates at either of the 2 loci. Seventeen H. diminuta isolates produced 2 different COX1 sequences while 7 ITS2 sequences obtained were identical to each other. The present results of H. nana and H. diminuta infections in brown rats implied the risk of zoonotic transmission of hymenolepiasis in China. These molecular data will be helpful to deeply study intra-specific variations within Hymenolepis cestodes in the future.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
The Role of the Norway Rat, Rattus norvegicus, as a Reservoir of Zoonotic Helminth Species in the City of Barcelona (Spain) Màrius Vicent Fuentes, Pablo Puchades-Colera, Carla Gosálvez, Sandra Sáez-Durán, Maria Cholvi-Simó, Santiago Ruvira, Joan Sanxis-Furió, Jordi Pascual, Rubén Bueno-Marí, Sandra Franco, Víctor Peracho, Tomás Montalvo, María Trelis, Ángela L. Debenedetti, Ma Animals.2025; 15(3): 298. CrossRef
Gastrointestinal helminth infections and ectoparasitism in wild rodents along wildlife-human interfaces in Tanzania Venance T. Msoffe, Claus A. Thomas, Alfan A. Rija, Jahashi Nzalawahe, Abdul S. Katakweba, Gerald Misinzo, Ladslaus L. Mnyone International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife.2025; 26: 101040. CrossRef
Quercetin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles for enhanced anti-helminthic activity Sunidhi Sharma, Ruchika Thukral, Lachhman Das Singla, Neena Singla, Diptiman Choudhury International Journal of Pharmaceutics.2025; 672: 125308. CrossRef
Sewer-associated rodents in countries with lower human development, a time-bomb for zoonoses? Clara Muñoz-Hernández, Ana Huertas-López, Woraporn Sukhumavasi, Moisés Gonzálvez Research in Veterinary Science.2025; 188: 105614. CrossRef
Treating Hymenolepiasis with Pumpkin Seeds: Effect on Ileum Histology and Dwarf Tapeworm Morphology Majed H. Wakid, Anan O. Alhawiti, Alaa S. Banjar, Rowaid M. Qahwaji, Hattan S. Gattan, Maimonah S. Alghanmi, Haifaa A. Mahjoub, Mohammad F. Al-Refai Acta Parasitologica.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Prevalence of intestinal parasites in laboratory rats and mice and effectiveness of aqueous extracts from carob pods, Moringa oleifera, and Artemisia alba on the zoonotic parasite Hymenolepis diminuta infection Reham G. A. Anter, Hoda A. Abd-Ellatieff, Hanaa Mohammed, Ahmed Bendari, Rehab E. Mohamed, Ashraf Fawzy Mosa Ahmed, Rasha Kamal Elsaid Fahmy, Marwa Alkaffas, Fatima M. Ibrahim, Doaa Naguib, Asmaa Aboelabbas Gouda Acta Parasitologica.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Morphometric and molecular identification of Hymenolepis diminuta in domestic rats (Rattus rattus) from urban slums in Northeastern Bangladesh: Implications for zoonotic transmission Tilak Chandra Nath, Md. Rokibul Hasan Shanto, Md. Masudur Rahman Khondaker, Mahfuja Akter, Md. Shakil Mahmud Supto, Proloy Chakraborty Tusher, Tarek Siddiki, Heeil Lee IJID One Health.2025; 8: 100077. CrossRef
Rodent-Borne Parasites and Human Disease: A Growing Public Health Concern Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales, Awad A. Shehata, Rokshana Parvin, Shadia Tasnim, Phelipe Magalhães Duarte, Shereen Basiouni Animals.2025; 15(18): 2681. CrossRef
Identification and histopathological assessment of intestinal Hymenolepis nana in pet hamsters in Guiyang, China Hongyan Wang, Ke Zhang, Xuanyin Cui, Xiaomao Li, Jiayu Hong, Yi Cheng, Rong Mou Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports.2025; 65: 101339. CrossRef
Hymenolepidid cestodes: Diversity, morphological and molecular characterization of a new species, and phylogeny of parasitic species of rodents from North and South America Natalia Beatriz Guerreiro Martins, Maria del Rosario Robles, Graciela Teresa Navone, Callejón Rocío Acta Tropica.2022; 231: 106480. CrossRef
Comparative comprehensive analysis on natural infections of Hymenolepis diminuta and Hymenolepis nana in commensal rodents S. K. Brar, N. Singla, L. D. Singla Helminthologia.2021; 58(3): 248. CrossRef
The dwarf tapeworm Hymenolepis nana in pet rodents in Slovakia—epidemiological survey and genetic analysis Júlia Jarošová, Daniela Antolová, Viliam Šnábel, Dana Miklisová, Serena Cavallero Parasitology Research.2020; 119(2): 519. CrossRef
Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among the Bulgarian population over a three year period (2015 – 2017) R. Harizanov, I. Rainova, N. Tsvetkova, I. Kaftandjiev, R. Borisova, A. Ivanova, M. Videnova Helminthologia.2020; 57(1): 12. CrossRef
Morphological, Molecular, and Pathological Appraisal ofHymenolepis nana(Hymenolepididae) Infecting Laboratory Mice (Mus musculus) Ebtsam Al-Olayan, Maha Elamin, Eman Alshehri, Abeer Aloufi, Zainab Alanazi, Mina Almayouf, Lamia Bakr, Rewaida Abdel-Gaber Microscopy and Microanalysis.2020; 26(2): 348. CrossRef
Molecular genotypes analysis of Cryptosporidium and Hymenolepis in rats on Lombok Island, Indonesia Ersandhi Resnhaleksmana, Wayan Tunas Artama, Mahardika Agus Wijayanti, Fihiruddin Fihiruddin International Journal of One Health.2020; 6(2): 123. CrossRef
Novel Linezolid analogues with antiparasitic activity against Hymenolepis nana Eleazar Alcántar-Zavala, Esteban Hernández-Guevara, Adrián Ochoa-Terán, Julio Montes-Ávila, Edgar A. Estrada-Zavala, Alex J. Salazar-Medina, Efraín Alday, Alberto Cabrera, Gerardo Aguirre, Valentín Miranda-Soto, Carlos Velazquez, Sylvia P. Díaz-Camacho, J Bioorganic Chemistry.2020; 105: 104359. CrossRef
Epidemiological and clinical characteristic of Hymenolepis diminuta infection – review of current literature Patrycja Kapczuk, Dariusz Chlubek, Irena Baranowska-Bosiacka Pomeranian Journal of Life Sciences.2020; 66(1): 29. CrossRef
Epidemiological and clinical characteristic of Hymenolepis diminuta infection – review of current literature Patrycja Kapczuk, Dariusz Chlubek, Irena Baranowska-Bosiacka Pomeranian Journal of Life Sciences.2020; 66(2): 32. CrossRef
Rodent-borne and rodent-related diseases in Iran Vahid Kazemi-Moghaddam, Rouhullah Dehghani, Mostafa Hadei, Samaneh Dehqan, Mohammad Mehdi Sedaghat, Milad Latifi, Shamim Alavi-Moghaddam Comparative Clinical Pathology.2019; 28(4): 893. CrossRef
Genetic diversity of the potentially therapeutic tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) Lucie Řežábková, Jan Brabec, Milan Jirků, Marc Dellerba, Roman Kuchta, David Modrý, William Parker, Kateřina Jirků Pomajbíková Parasitology International.2019; 71: 121. CrossRef
Comparative Study morphological and Molecular for infected Rodent with two cestoda Hymenolepis nana & H. diminuta In Al-Diwaniyah City, South Of Iraq Habeeb waseel kadhum shubber, Murtadha Nabeel, Murtadha Al-Tameemi Journal of Physics: Conference Series.2019; 1294(6): 062058. CrossRef
First
Prev
