Screening of helminths on the external surface of cockroaches (family: blattidae) collected from residential areas in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan / Nur Syamimi Zamzuri, Sarah Shazwani Zakaria and Nur Hasyimah Ramli

Cockroaches are common pests which live in close contact with humans. It is believed that cockroaches are parasitic vectors of helminths that can colonize humans or animals. However, the records on the prevalence of parasites in domestic cockroaches are very limited. This study aimed to identify helminths on external surface of cockroaches collected from residential areas in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan. A total of 41 cockroaches were collected from three households randomly selected in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Cockroaches were caught in kitchens and toilets using modified plastic bottles. An overall percentage of helminths presence on cockroach samples of 39.02 % was recorded. Cockroaches caught in kitchens carried more helminths (50.00 %) compared to those from toilets (26.32 %). Four genera of helminths were identified from the specimens. The identification of parasites showed that the highest percentage of parasites found was Strongyloides (19.51 %), followed by Ascaris (14.63 %), Schistosoma (2.44 %) and Dipylidium (2.44 %). The diversity index and richness index of parasites were higher on cockroaches collected in kitchens (H'=1.121 and R'=1.251, respectively) than those collected in toilets (H'=0.673 and R'=0.621, respectively). Meanwhile, the evenness of parasites was higher on cockroaches collected in toilets (E'=0.9801) than those collected in kitchens (E'=0.7669). These findings support the cockroaches’ ability as parasitic vectors. Hence, increasing the sanitation level of these areas can help in preventing cockroach infestation and reduce the risk of parasitic disease transmission. In the future, further study should be conducted by incorporating Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method to precisely differentiate between parasite species.