Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia
Chigger mites are vectors of the bacterial disease scrub typhus, caused by Orientia spp. The bacterium is vertically transmitted in the vector and horizontally transmitted to terrestrial vertebrates (primarily wild small mammals), with humans as incidental hosts. Previous studies have shown that the...
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my.um.eprints.408322023-09-27T02:38:48Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/40832/ Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia Alkathiry, Hadil Al-Rofaai, Ahmed Ya'cob, Zubaidah Cutmore, Tamsin S. Mohd-Azami, Siti Nurul Izzah Husin, Nurul Aini Lim, Fang Shiang Koosakulnirand, Sirikamon Mahfodz, Nor Hidayana Ishak, Siti Nabilah Loong, Shih Keng Stekolnikov, Alexandr Mohd-Taib, Farah Shafawati AbuBakar, Sazaly Makepeace, Benjamin L. Chaisiri, Kittipong Khoo, Jing Jing R Medicine Chigger mites are vectors of the bacterial disease scrub typhus, caused by Orientia spp. The bacterium is vertically transmitted in the vector and horizontally transmitted to terrestrial vertebrates (primarily wild small mammals), with humans as incidental hosts. Previous studies have shown that the size of the chigger populations is correlated with the density of small mammals in scrub typhus-endemic regions. Here, we explore interactions between the small mammals and chiggers in two oil palm plantations located in the Perak and Johor states of Peninsular Malaysia. The location in Perak also contained an aboriginal (Orang Asli) settlement. A similar to 5% sub-sample from 40,736 chigger specimens was identified from five species of small mammals (n = 217), revealing 14 chigger species, including two new records for Malaysia. The abundance and species richness of chiggers were significantly affected by habitat type (highest in forest border), state (highest in Perak), and season (highest in dry). The overall prevalence of Orientia tsutsugamushi DNA in small-mammal tissues was 11.7% and was not significantly affected by host or habitat characteristics, but in Johor, was positively associated with infestation by Leptotrombidium arenicola. These findings highlight the risk of contracting scrub typhus in oil palm plantations and associated human settlements. MDPI 2022-10 Article PeerReviewed Alkathiry, Hadil and Al-Rofaai, Ahmed and Ya'cob, Zubaidah and Cutmore, Tamsin S. and Mohd-Azami, Siti Nurul Izzah and Husin, Nurul Aini and Lim, Fang Shiang and Koosakulnirand, Sirikamon and Mahfodz, Nor Hidayana and Ishak, Siti Nabilah and Loong, Shih Keng and Stekolnikov, Alexandr and Mohd-Taib, Farah Shafawati and AbuBakar, Sazaly and Makepeace, Benjamin L. and Chaisiri, Kittipong and Khoo, Jing Jing (2022) Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia. Pathogens, 11 (10). ISSN 2076-0817, DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11101087 <https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11101087>. 10.3390/pathogens11101087 |
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R Medicine Alkathiry, Hadil Al-Rofaai, Ahmed Ya'cob, Zubaidah Cutmore, Tamsin S. Mohd-Azami, Siti Nurul Izzah Husin, Nurul Aini Lim, Fang Shiang Koosakulnirand, Sirikamon Mahfodz, Nor Hidayana Ishak, Siti Nabilah Loong, Shih Keng Stekolnikov, Alexandr Mohd-Taib, Farah Shafawati AbuBakar, Sazaly Makepeace, Benjamin L. Chaisiri, Kittipong Khoo, Jing Jing Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia |
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Chigger mites are vectors of the bacterial disease scrub typhus, caused by Orientia spp. The bacterium is vertically transmitted in the vector and horizontally transmitted to terrestrial vertebrates (primarily wild small mammals), with humans as incidental hosts. Previous studies have shown that the size of the chigger populations is correlated with the density of small mammals in scrub typhus-endemic regions. Here, we explore interactions between the small mammals and chiggers in two oil palm plantations located in the Perak and Johor states of Peninsular Malaysia. The location in Perak also contained an aboriginal (Orang Asli) settlement. A similar to 5% sub-sample from 40,736 chigger specimens was identified from five species of small mammals (n = 217), revealing 14 chigger species, including two new records for Malaysia. The abundance and species richness of chiggers were significantly affected by habitat type (highest in forest border), state (highest in Perak), and season (highest in dry). The overall prevalence of Orientia tsutsugamushi DNA in small-mammal tissues was 11.7% and was not significantly affected by host or habitat characteristics, but in Johor, was positively associated with infestation by Leptotrombidium arenicola. These findings highlight the risk of contracting scrub typhus in oil palm plantations and associated human settlements. |
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Article |
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Alkathiry, Hadil Al-Rofaai, Ahmed Ya'cob, Zubaidah Cutmore, Tamsin S. Mohd-Azami, Siti Nurul Izzah Husin, Nurul Aini Lim, Fang Shiang Koosakulnirand, Sirikamon Mahfodz, Nor Hidayana Ishak, Siti Nabilah Loong, Shih Keng Stekolnikov, Alexandr Mohd-Taib, Farah Shafawati AbuBakar, Sazaly Makepeace, Benjamin L. Chaisiri, Kittipong Khoo, Jing Jing |
author_facet |
Alkathiry, Hadil Al-Rofaai, Ahmed Ya'cob, Zubaidah Cutmore, Tamsin S. Mohd-Azami, Siti Nurul Izzah Husin, Nurul Aini Lim, Fang Shiang Koosakulnirand, Sirikamon Mahfodz, Nor Hidayana Ishak, Siti Nabilah Loong, Shih Keng Stekolnikov, Alexandr Mohd-Taib, Farah Shafawati AbuBakar, Sazaly Makepeace, Benjamin L. Chaisiri, Kittipong Khoo, Jing Jing |
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Alkathiry, Hadil |
title |
Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia |
title_short |
Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia |
title_full |
Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia |
title_fullStr |
Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in Peninsular Malaysia |
title_sort |
habitat and season drive chigger mite diversity and abundance on small mammals in peninsular malaysia |
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MDPI |
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2022 |
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http://eprints.um.edu.my/40832/ |
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1781704531165315072 |
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13.160551 |