Mites (acari) infesting commensal rats in Suez Canal zone, Egypt

Mites are arthropods distinguished from ticks by usually being microscopical in size and have a hypostome unarmed with tooth-like anchoring processes. They are group in a number of suborders, each with super-families and families including many genera of medical and economic importance. In this paper, commensal rodents (Rattus norvegicus, R. r. alexandrinus and R. r. frugivorous) were surveyed in the Suez Canal Zone for their acari ectoparasites. Four species of mites were recovered. In a descending order of mite indices, they were Eulaelaps stabularis (4.83 on 6 rats), Laelaps nuttalli (3.11 on 27 rats), Ornithonyssus bacoti (1.66 on 9 rats) and Dermanyssus gallinae (0.66 on 24 rats). The overall mite indices in the three governorates were 3.66 in Suez, 2.82 in Ismailia and zero in Port Said. The medical and economic importance of the mites were discussed.