Prevalence of ectoparasites of the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) in the town of Dschang, West Region, Cameroon


Submitted: 12 February 2013
Accepted: 7 August 2013
Published: 20 December 2013
Abstract Views: 1803
PDF: 1127
HTML: 693
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

To estimate the prevalence of ectoparasites of the barn swallow (H. rustica) in Dschang and to see if this bird can be a risk to public health, an investigation was carried out in three sites. An analysis of 51 swallows showed that 35.29% of these birds carry at least one species of ectoparasite. Four species were identified, with the following prevalence: 31.37% (Eomenacanthus stramineus), 5.88% (Goniocotes gallinae), 3.92% (Menacanthus cornutus) and 3.92% (Menopon gallinae). The only significant difference in prevalence between sites was observed with E. stramineus and G. gallinae. Sex did not influence the prevalence of ectoparasites. Swallows of low weight were the most infested. The diversity of nest building material is an indicator of the exploration of several types of media for nest building. Diversity and equitability indexes were 1.05 and 0.53, respectively. A survey carried out using questionnaires showed that swallows are consumed by 30% of the respondents and are used in traditional medicines. These interactions can pose risks to the human population, although we did not find any zoonotic species.

Supporting Agencies

none

Kenko Nkontcheu, D., & Ngameni Tchamadeu, N. (2013). Prevalence of ectoparasites of the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) in the town of Dschang, West Region, Cameroon. Journal of Entomological and Acarological Research, 45(3), e24. https://doi.org/10.4081/jear.2013.e24

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations