Parasite fauna of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) in an urban region of Germany: reservoir host of zoonotic metazoan parasites?

Abstract

In the present study, 29 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) were studied for their endo- and ectoparasite fauna. The rodents were trapped in Dormagen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A total of ten different parasite species were identified: four endoparasite (four Nematoda) and six ectoparasite (three Insecta, three Arachnida) species. The predominant endoparasite was the nematode Aonchotheca murissylvatici, followed by the nematode Heligmosomum costellatum, while the flea Ctenophthalmus agyrtes was the dominant ectoparasite. C. glareolus usually carried one to five different parasite species (mean 2.2). The bank voles were infected only by Nematoda, while Digenea or Cestoda species were not detected. The present findings are in clear contrast to the results obtained in other geographical regions of Germany and Europe, where eight different Cestoda species constituted the main part of the helminth parasites in C. glareolus. In the area investigated, the bank voles harbored no zoonotic parasites, and therefore, they play not a role as potential reservoir host for these parasite species.