1.Morphological characteristics of microfilariae in blood smears of the common treeshrew Tupaia glis (Mammalia: Scandentia) in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Mat Udin, A.S. ; Uni, S. ; Zainuri, N.A. ; Abdullah Halim, M.R. ; Belabut, D.A. ; Mohamad Ikbal, N.H. ; Saarani, M.A.F. ; Chen, C.D. ; Uga, S. ; Ramli, R. ; Sofian-Azirun, M.
Tropical Biomedicine 2020;37(No.4):1152-1157
Some filarial nematodes, such as Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia
timori, cause lymphatic diseases in humans in the tropics, whereas other filarial parasites
from wild animals cause zoonotic diseases in humans worldwide. To elucidate the prevalence
and diversity of filarial parasites in Malaysia, we investigated the filarial parasites from wild
animals in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. To find adult filarial parasites, we dissected 26 animals,
which included five frogs, one skink, one snake, two birds, six common treeshrews, and 11
rats. Then, we examined microfilariae in the blood smears and skin snips obtained from each
animal. We found two types of microfilariae in the blood smears of common treeshrews: one
was very similar to Malayfilaria sofiani and the other closely resembled Brugia tupaiae.
These findings indicate an additional distribution of these filarial parasites in Gemas.