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Oriental Rat Flea
The Oriental rat flea (''Xenopsylla cheopis''), also known as the tropical rat flea or the rat flea, is a parasite of rodents, primarily of the genus ''Rattus'', and is a primary Vector (epidemiology), vector for bubonic plague, plague and murine typhus. This occurs when a flea that has fed on an infected rodent bites a human, although this flea can live on any warm blooded mammal. Body structure The Oriental rat flea has no genal or pronotal combs. This characteristic can be used to differentiate the Oriental rat flea from the cat flea, dog flea, and other fleas. The flea's body is about one tenth of an inch long (about ). Its body is constructed to make it easier to jump long distances. The flea's body consists of three regions: head, thorax, and abdomen. The head and the thorax have rows of bristles (called combs), and the abdomen consists of eight visible segments. A flea's mouth has two functions: one for squirting saliva or partly digested blood into the bite, and one for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Rothschild
Nathaniel Charles Rothschild (9 May 1877 – 12 October 1923) was an English banker and entomologist and a member of the Rothschild family. He is remembered for 'the Rothschild List', a list he made in 1915 of 284 sites across Britain that he considered suitable for nature reserves. Family Nathaniel Charles Rothschild was born in London into the Rothschild family, a prominent Jewish family of bankers. His parents, Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild, and Emma Rothschild (''née'' von Rothschild), were cousins. Charles boarded at Harrow School, which he found somewhat traumatising for incidents of bullying on account of his religion. He worked as a partner in the family bank N M Rothschild & Sons in London. He went to Rothschild's Bank every morning; despite all his interest in science and in natural history, he never missed a day. He was also very interested in the gold refinery operated by Rothschild's, and invented a variety of devices for collecting gold, and working ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shendi
Shendi or Shandi () is a small city in northern Sudan, situated on the southeastern bank of the Nile River 150 km northeast of Khartoum. Shandi is also about 45 km southwest of the ancient city of Meroë. Located in the River Nile state, Shandi is the center of the Ja'alin tribe and an important historic trading center. Its principal suburb on the west bank is Matamma. A major traditional trade route across the Bayuda Desert connects Matamma to Merowe and Napata, 250 km to the northwest. The city is the historical capital of the powerful Sudanese Arab Ja'alin tribe whom most of its denizens belong to. The village of Hosh Bannaga, hometown of former President Omar al-Bashir, is located on the outskirts of the city. Etymology There are several theories as to the origin of Shendi's name. One theory claims that the name comes from an old Nubian word for "lip" because the town is located in the bend of the Nile River, which is similar to the shape of lips. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Vectors Of Human Pathogens
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, Thorax (insect anatomy), thorax and abdomen (insect anatomy), abdomen), three pairs of jointed Arthropod leg, legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antenna (biology), antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species. The insect nervous system consists of a insect brain, brain and a ventral nerve cord. Most insects reproduce Oviparous, by laying eggs. Insects Respiratory system of insects, breathe air through a system of Spiracle (arthropods), paired openings along their sides, connected to Trachea#Invertebrates, small tubes that take air directly to the tissues. The blood therefore does not carry oxygen; it is only partly contained in ves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulicidae
The Pulicidae are a flea family in the order Siphonaptera. Currently, this family has 181 species in 27 genera. Of these, 16 are known from North America. Like all 2,500 Siphonaptera, the Pulicidae are ectoparasites. These fleas are wingless, laterally flattened, and great jumpers. They must be able to jump quickly and at great relative heights in order to latch onto their host for feeding and for rapid escape from their host. They make incredible jumps using the protein, resilin. It charges the energy in their body, allowing more forceful and frequent jumps than would be possible relying on only their muscles. This also means that they can jump frequently without exhausting their muscles. They mainly feed on mammal blood, and many Siphonoptera families, including Pulicidae, transmit disease. Ecology Pulicidae feed on mammalian blood. ''Ctenocephalides felis felis'' is also known as the cat flea, and is an extremely important parasite of domestic cats and dogs. They pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norwegian Rat
The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent with a body length of up to long, and a tail slightly shorter than that. It weighs between . Thought to have originated in northern China and neighbouring areas, this rodent has now spread to all continents except Antarctica, and is the dominant rat in Europe and much of North America, having become naturalised across the world. With rare exceptions, the brown rat lives wherever humans live, particularly in urban areas. They are omnivorous, reproduce rapidly, and can serve as a vector for several human diseases. Selective breeding of the brown rat has produced the fancy rat (rats kept as pets), as well as the laboratory rat (rats used as model organisms in biological research). Both fancy rats and laboratory rats are of the domesticated sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science (journal)
''Science'' is the peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals. It was first published in 1880, is currently circulated weekly and has a subscriber base of around 130,000. Because institutional subscriptions and online access serve a larger audience, its estimated readership is over 400,000 people. ''Science'' is based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a second office in Cambridge, UK. Contents The major focus of the journal is publishing important original scientific research and research reviews, but ''Science'' also publishes science-related news, opinions on science policy and other matters of interest to scientists and others who are concerned with the wide implications of science and technology. Unlike most scientific journals, which focus on a specific field, ''Science'' and its rival ''Nature (journal), Nature'' cover the full range of List of academ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymenolepis Nana
Dwarf tapeworm (''Hymenolepis nana'', also known as ''Rodentolepis nana'', ''Vampirolepis nana'', ''Hymenolepis fraterna'', and ''Taenia nana'') is a cosmopolitan species though most common in temperate zones, and is one of the most common cestodes (a type of intestinal worm or helminth) infecting humans, especially children. Morphology As its name implies ( – dwarf), it is a small species, seldom exceeding 40 mm long and 1 mm wide. The scolex bears a retractable rostellum armed with a single circle of 20 to 30 hooks. The scolex also has four suckers, or a tetrad. The neck is long and slender, and the segments are wider than long. Genital pores are unilateral, and each mature segment contains three testes. After apolysis, gravid segments disintegrate, releasing eggs, which measure 30 to 47 μm in diameter. The oncosphere is covered with a thin, hyaline, outer membrane and an inner, thick membrane with polar thickenings that bear several filaments. The heavy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymenolepis Diminuta
''Hymenolepis diminuta'', also known as rat tapeworm, is a species of '' Hymenolepis'' tapeworm that causes hymenolepiasis. It has slightly bigger eggs and proglottids than '' H. nana'' and infects mammals using insects as intermediate hosts. The adult structure is 20 to 60 cm long and the mature proglottid is similar to that of ''H. nana'', except it is larger. ''Hymenolepis diminuta'' is prevalent worldwide, but only a few hundred human cases have been reported. Few cases have ever been reported in Australia, United States, Spain, and Italy. In countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Jamaica, Indonesia, the prevalence is higher.Tena D, Pιrez Simón M, Gimeno C, Pιrez Pomata MT, Illescas S, Amondarain I, et al. Human infection with Hymenolepis diminuta : Case report from Spain. J Clin Microbiol 1998;36:2375-6.Marangi M, Zechini B, Fileti A, Quaranta G, Aceti A. Hymenolepis diminuta infection in a child living in the urban area of Rome, Italy. J Clin Microbiol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rickettsia Typhi
''Rickettsia typhi'' is a small, Aerobic organism, aerobic, obligate intracellular, rod shaped Gram-negative bacteria, gram negative bacterium. It belongs to the typhus group of the ''Rickettsia'' genus, along with Rickettsia prowazekii, ''R. prowazekii''. ''R. typhi'' has an uncertain history, as it may have long gone shadowed by epidemic typhus (''R. prowazekii''). This bacterium is recognized as a biocontainment level 2/3 organism. ''R. typhi'' is a flea-borne disease that is best known to be the causative agent for the disease murine typhus, which is an Endemic (epidemiology), endemic typhus in humans that is distributed worldwide. As with all rickettsial organisms, ''R. typhi'' is a zoonotic agent that causes the disease ''murine typhus'', displaying non-specific mild symptoms of fevers, headaches, pains and rashes. There are two cycles of ''R. typhi'' transmission from animal reservoirs containing ''R. typhi'' to humans: a classic rat-flea-rat cycle that is most well studied an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plague (disease)
Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium '' Yersinia pestis''. Symptoms include fever, weakness and headache. Usually this begins one to seven days after exposure. There are three forms of plague, each affecting a different part of the body and causing associated symptoms. Pneumonic plague infects the lungs, causing shortness of breath, coughing and chest pain; bubonic plague affects the lymph nodes, making them swell; and septicemic plague infects the blood and can cause tissues to turn black and die. The bubonic and septicemic forms are generally spread by flea bites or handling an infected animal, whereas pneumonic plague is generally spread between people through the air via infectious droplets. Diagnosis is typically by finding the bacterium in fluid from a lymph node, blood or sputum. Those at high risk may be vaccinated. Those exposed to a case of pneumonic plague may be treated with preventive medication. If infected, treatment is with antibiotics a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
