Babesia Occurrence in Rodents in Relation to Landscapes of Mainland Southeast Asia.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between habitat structure and Babesia spp. occurrence in rodents in mainland Southeast Asia. Of 1439 rodents and insectivores investigated, the protist Babesia was found in only 81 individuals (5.6% of the micromammals investigated) with Babesia microti U.S. type the more prevalent (4.1%), followed by the B. microti Kobe type (1.2%), and by the very rare Babesia BiCM002 (0.04%). We used georeferenced data of rodents analyzed for Babesia infection and land cover maps produced for the seven study sites in Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao PDR, where they were collected. Rodents infected by Babesia were more likely to be found in settlements close to forested areas, which may represent risky place for spillover of Babesia species to humans.