PONERINE ANT (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) AS VECTORS FOR BACTERIA IN PUBLIC HEALTH CENTRE, MADURAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

Thangavel Rajagopal (), Marimuthu Muthukatturaja, Manickam Kaliswari, Subbiah Selvarani, Ponnirul Ponmanickam and Subramanian Sevarkodiyone
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Thangavel Rajagopal: Department of Zoology, Thiagarajar College (Autonomous), Madurai-625009, Tamil Nadu, India.
Marimuthu Muthukatturaja: Department of Zoology, Thiagarajar College (Autonomous), Madurai-625009, Tamil Nadu, India
Manickam Kaliswari: Department of Zoology, Thiagarajar College (Autonomous), Madurai-625009, Tamil Nadu, India
Subbiah Selvarani: Department of Zoology, Thiagarajar College (Autonomous), Madurai-625009, Tamil Nadu, India
Ponnirul Ponmanickam: Department of Zoology, Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College (Autonomous), Sivakasi-626123, Tamil Nadu, India.
Subramanian Sevarkodiyone: Department of Zoology, Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College (Autonomous), Sivakasi-626123, Tamil Nadu, India.

Acta Scientifica Malaysia (ASM), 2023, vol. 7, issue 1, 31-36

Abstract: Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are a highly sociable and diversified groups of insects found in tropical regions. They coexist harmoniously with humans and are well-adapted to urban environment. Several studies have found that ants can carry pathogenic microbes in their environments and cause infections / spread pathogens. The present study aimed to identify and characterize bacterial biomes presence on the body surface of the Ponerine ant, Leptogenys chinensis, collected from various wards at the Government Rajajii Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. A total of nine bacterial isolates were isolated from the external body surface of the ants, among which 55.55 % were Gram-positive bacilli (Bacillus spp., Corynebacterium sp., and Paenibacillus spp.), 11.11 % were Gram-positive cocci (Staphylococcus sp.) and 33.33 % were Gram-negative bacilli (Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacter sp.), reportedly in hospitals around the world. The findings of the present investigation, Ponerine ants could carry Gram-positive bacilli, Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative bacilli bacteria. This emphasizes the significance of ants as mechanical vectors for the spread of pathogens in the hospital environments.

Keywords: Leptogenys chinensis; Government Rajaji Hospital; Pathogenic microorganisms; Staphylococcus sp.; Mechanical vectors. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zib:zbnasm:v:7:y:2023:i:1:p:31-36

DOI: 10.26480/asm.01.2023.31.36

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