Trypanosomiasis in Rodents from Selected Plague Endemic Foci of Tanzania

Abstract

Trypanosomiasis is among the zoonotic diseases that cause threat to public health, rodents are known to be reservoir of various Trypanosomes which are zoonotic. The cross-sectional studies were conducted in selected areas of plague endemic foci in Tanzania, aiming at establishing the prevalence of Trypanosoma sp. infection in rodent species. A total of 105 rodents comprising nine species were captured in different habitats during the study period conducted between March and May 2022. Thin and thick smears were used to detect the Trypanosoma sp. infection in rodent species. The prevalence recorded was 4.8%(5/105), with individual prevalence of Mastomys natalensis 1.9%(2/105), Rattus rattus1.9%(2/105) and Lophuromys kilonzoi 1.0%(1/105). Prevalence of Trypanosoma sp. infection was not differed significantly between host species (P>0.05), host sex (P>0.05), habitat type (P>0.05) and wards (P>0.05). The present study has confirmed the presence of Trypanosoma sp. infection in rodents in plague endemic foci of Tanzania, hence raising the public health concern due to their zoonotic potential.