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      Prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis in Dogs in Shenyang, Northeastern China

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          Abstract

          In the present study, we first report the seroprevalence of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs in Shenyang, northeastern China. Sera from 528 randomly selected dogs were examined for D. immitis antigen using SNAP®4Dx test kit; 12.7% tested showed seropositive. No significant difference of infection was observed in different genders and breeds ( P>0.05), but the difference was significant in different age groups and rearing conditions ( P<0.05). The result suggested that the risk of exposure to D. immitis in dogs is high in Shenyang, and should be given attention.

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          Most cited references19

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          Heartworm disease in animals and humans.

          Heartworm disease due to Dirofilaria immitis continues to cause severe disease and even death in dogs and other animals in many parts of the world, even though safe, highly effective and convenient preventatives have been available for the past two decades. Moreover, the parasite and vector mosquitoes continue to spread into areas where they have not been reported previously. Heartworm societies have been established in the USA and Japan and the First European Dirofilaria Days (FEDD) Conference was held in Zagreb, Croatia, in February of 2007. These organizations promote awareness, encourage research and provide updated guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heartworm disease. The chapter begins with a review of the biology and life cycle of the parasite. It continues with the prevalence and distribution of the disease in domestic and wild animals, with emphasis on more recent data on the spreading of the disease and the use of molecular biology techniques in vector studies. The section on pathogenesis and immunology also includes a discussion of the current knowledge of the potential role of the Wolbachia endosymbiont in inflammatory and immune responses to D. immitis infection, diagnostic use of specific immune responses to the bacteria, immunomodulatory activity and antibiotic treatment of infected animals. Canine, feline and ferret heartworm disease are updated with regard to the clinical presentation, diagnosis, prevention, therapy and management of the disease, with special emphasis on the recently described Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD) Syndrome in cats. The section devoted to heartworm infection in humans also includes notes on other epizootic filariae, particularly D. repens in humans in Europe. The chapter concludes with a discussion on emerging strategies in heartworm treatment and control, highlighting the potential role of tetracycline antibiotics in adulticidal therapy.
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            Public health aspects of dirofilariasis in the United States.

            Coin lesions in the human lung present significant differential diagnostic problems to the physician. There are at least 20 known causes of such lesions, including neoplastic lesions, infectious diseases, and granulomas. The human medical literature contains many misconceptions about the life cycle of Dirofilaria immitis, including the method of entry of the infective-stage larvae and the development of the young adult worm. These misconceptions have obscured the recognition of the clinical presentation of pulmonary dirofilariasis and the potential for D. immitis to lodge in many other areas of the human body besides the lung. Exposure to infective larvae of D. immitis is more common in humans than is currently recognized. Reported cases in humans reflect the prevalence in the canine population in areas of the United States. The veterinary literature provides compelling evidence that D. immitis is a vascular parasite, not an intracardiac one. Its presence in the right ventricle is a post-mortem artifact, because it has never been shown to be there by echocardiography or angiography in a living dog, even though these techniques have demonstrated adult D. immitis in the pulmonary, femoral, and hepatic arteries; posterior vena cava; and right atrium of live dogs. Physicians have taken the name "heartworm" literally, believing that the worm lives in the heart and only after it dies does it embolize to the pulmonary artery. However, the coin lesion is spherical in shape, not pyramidal, as embolic infarcts to the lung in humans are known to be. The coin lesion is an end-stage result of the parasite's death in the vascular bed of the lungs and the stimulation of a pneumonitis followed by granuloma formation. This pneumonitis phase of human pulmonary dirofilariasis is often not recognized by the radiologist because of the way pneumonitis is diagnosed and treated and because the developing nodule is obscured by the lung inflammation. Serologic methods for use in humans are needed for clinical evaluations of patients with pneumonitis living in highly enzootic D. immitis regions. As well, epidemiological surveys are needed to determine the real extent of this zoonotic infection.
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              Diagnosis of imported canine filarial infections in Germany 2008 - 2010.

              Filarial infections of dogs are attracting attention across Europe because of the risk of spread into previously non-endemic areas (e.g. Dirofilaria repens with Culicidae as vectors) and as emerging zoonotic agents. The occurrence of filarial infections in German dogs has been analysed based on 8,545 samples collected either from imported animals or following travel into endemic regions. All samples were tested by means of modified Knott's test and heartworm antigen assay within the period 2008 - 2010. Heartworm antigen was detected in 127 samples (1.49 %; 95 % CI: 1.25 - 1.77 %), but only 38 dogs also had microfilariae in their blood samples. On the other hand, 125 animals (1.46 %; 95 % CI: 1.23 - 1.74 %) were only positive in the Knott's test. For discrimination by means of PCR and sequencing a total of 73 blood samples as well as two samples of adult worms were included, which have been sent by veterinarians during 2008 - 2010. A mono-infection caused by D. repens was detected in 35 cases, while D. immitis was proven in 15 samples, with 6 of these showing a combination of D. immitis and D. repens. Imported Dipetalonema dracunculoides (transmitted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus or Hippobosca longipennis) or Acanthocheilonema reconditum (fleas and lice serve as intermediate hosts) infections were diagnosed in 24 cases and in a single sample a co-infection of A. reconditum and D. repens was evident. D. repens was the most common filarial infection imported and it was introduced into Germany from eleven European countries. Slovenia and Hungary are reported for the first time as endemic for D. repens and A. reconditum, respectively. Furthermore this study reports, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time import of D. dracunculoides from the Canary Islands, A. reconditum from Majorca, D. immitis from Corfu and a co-infection of D. repens and A. reconditum from Spain as well as mixed infections of D. repens and D. immitis from Corfu, Sardinia and Bulgaria. Co-infections with other arthropod-borne infections as well as therapeutical follow-up were also considered. Selamectin (as spot-on formulation) was not able to clear microfilaraemia in dogs infected with either D. repens, A. reconditum or D. dracunculoides, whereas a topical moxidectin/imidacloprid formulation was able to eliminate microfilariae in one dog infected with A. reconditum.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Korean J Parasitol
                Korean J. Parasitol
                KJP
                The Korean Journal of Parasitology
                The Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine
                0023-4001
                1738-0006
                June 2013
                30 June 2013
                : 51
                : 3
                : 375-377
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Shenyang Police Dog Technical College, 4 BaiShan Road, Shenyang, Liaoning Province 110034, China.
                [2 ]College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, DongLing Road No. 120, Shenyang, Liaoning Province 110866, China.
                Author notes
                Corresponding author ( dayangna@ 123456163.com )
                Article
                10.3347/kjp.2013.51.3.375
                3712115
                23864752
                b59ba228-b9da-4c42-8e0f-a43663bd4c45
                © 2013, Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 19 November 2012
                : 20 February 2013
                : 31 March 2013
                Categories
                Brief Communication

                Parasitology
                dirofilaria immitis,seroprevalence,dog,snap®4dx test kit
                Parasitology
                dirofilaria immitis, seroprevalence, dog, snap®4dx test kit

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