Article
Parasitology
Laidoudi Younes, Helene Barre-Cardi, Samia Bedjaoui, Nazli Ayhan, Marie Varloud, Oleg Mediannikov, Domenico Otranto, Bernard Davoust
Summary: The study conducted in Corsica, France reveals that Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens have a potential transmission period and diversity, with mosquitoes as their vectors. Implementing preventive measures is suggested to reduce the infection risk in both human and animal populations.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2021)
Article
Parasitology
Andrew R. Moorhead, Christopher C. Evans, Kaori Sakamoto, Michael T. Dzimianski, Abdelmoneim Mansour, Utami DiCosty, Crystal Fricks, Scott McCall, Ben Carson, C. Thomas Nelson, John W. McCall
Summary: According to the study, using doxycycline prior to adulticide administration can effectively reduce the levels of Wolbachia and its associated metabolites, which are a leading cause of pulmonary pathology. The current guidelines recommend a 30-day wait period after using doxycycline, but this wait period may not be necessary. Therefore, reducing the wait period and doxycycline dosage may bring practical benefits to animals, pet owners, and veterinarians.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Rachel Smith, Daniel Felipe Barrantes Murillo, Kelly Chenoweth, Subarna Barua, Patrick John Kelly, Lindsay Starkey, Byron Blagburn, Theresa Wood, Chengming Wang
Summary: This study is the first nationwide molecular survey of Dirofilaria spp. in dogs and cats in the USA. The results revealed a higher prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs in the USA, with a lower prevalence in cats. The Southern states had a significantly higher prevalence compared to other regions, and Dirofilaria repens was not detected in the USA.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Kennedy Mwacalimba, Deborah Amodie, Lisa Swisher, Marina Moldavchuk, Christopher Brennan, Claire Walther, Kelly Bowman
Summary: The study found that injectable moxidectin had a higher 12-month preventive purchase compliance rate compared to monthly heartworm disease preventives, generating more revenue for veterinary hospitals.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Emanuele Brianti, Rossella Panarese, Ettore Napoli, Giovanni De Benedetto, Gabriella Gaglio, Marcos Antonio Bezerra-Santos, Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan, Domenico Otranto
Summary: Due to various factors like colonization by invasive mosquito species, increased animal movement, and lack of chemoprophylactic strategies in non-endemic regions, heartworm disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis may spread to new territories in southern Europe previously unaffected, posing a real threat to animal and human health.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Biplab K. Saha, Alyssa Bonnier, Woon Hean Chong, Hau Chieng, Adam Austin, Kurt Hu, Boris Shkolnik
Summary: Human pulmonary dirofilariasis is a rare disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis, the same parasite responsible for canine heartworm. The incidence of this disease is increasing worldwide due to greater awareness and factors affecting the mosquito vector. Most patients have no symptoms and are diagnosed with pulmonary nodules, while some may experience acute symptoms of pneumonia. Currently, there are no specific clinical tests, and diagnosis is usually made through surgical resection and histopathologic identification of the worm.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Kennedy Mwacalimba, Andrea Wright, Konstantinos Giannakakis, Richard L'Estrange, Tinh-Son Nguyen
Summary: In the 5 years from 2010 to 2015, 73% of dog owners who visited a veterinary practice at least twice made less than two purchases of HW preventatives from the veterinary practice. For those with at least two preventative purchases, 76.7% of dogs receiving IM and 24.4% of dogs prescribed with MHW products purchased enough doses to provide continuous protection over the observation period.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Veterinary Sciences
Rossella Panarese, Rhiannon Moore, Antony P. Page, Mike McDonald, Emma MacDonald, William Weir
Summary: Over the past two decades, vector-borne pathogens have shifted their distribution globally due to various environmental, socioeconomic, and geopolitical factors. Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens are examples of European pathogens that have undergone significant changes in their distribution, with new infection hotspots appearing in previously non-endemic countries.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Younes Laidoudi, Domenico Otranto, Natacha Stolowy, Sophie Amrane, Ranju Ravindran Santhakumari Manoj, Laurine Polette, Stephanie Watier-Grillot, Oleg Mediannikov, Bernard Davoust, Coralie L'Ollivier
Summary: Dirofilariasis, caused by Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens, is an ancient zoonotic infection affecting humans and dogs. A study in southeast France found high molecular prevalence of Dirofilaria spp. in dogs, with ocular dirofilariasis mainly seen in elderly patients in the region. Despite a shared genotype between human and dog cases, the parasites were geographically concentrated, highlighting the need for preventive strategies in these areas.
Article
Microbiology
Remy Betous, Anthony Emile, Hua Che, Eva J. Guchen, Didier Concordet, Thavy Long, Sandra Noack, Paul M. Selzer, Roger Prichard, Anne Lespine
Summary: Nematode parasites enter their definitive host as infectious larvae and DAF-12 plays a role in their development to adulthood. The filarial nematodes' DAF-12 exhibit higher sensitivity to ligands and can be specifically activated by mammalian sera. These findings suggest that filarial nematodes have evolved to sense and adapt to their host environment to resume larval development.
Article
Parasitology
Katharina Riebenbauer, Philipp B. Weber, Julia Walochnik, Franz Karlhofer, Stefan Winkler, Sonja Dorfer, Herbert Auer, Julia Valencak, Martin Laimer, Alessandra Handisurya
Summary: The incidence of human dirofilariosis cases has significantly increased over the past four decades in Austria, with a notable rise in cases after 1998. Most patients with the disease had a history of travel to regions endemic for Dirofilaria species, indicating changes in human behavior and travel activities as contributing factors to the rise in cases.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Rodrigo Morchon, Jose Alberto Montoya-Alonso, Ivan Rodriguez-Escolar, Elena Carreton
Summary: This review provides an update on the epidemiological situation of heartworm disease in Europe and analyzes the factors contributing to its continuous spread. The disease has extended to Eastern European countries and the prevalence continues to increase in southern countries where it was traditionally endemic. Factors such as climate changes, presence of new vectors, movement of pets from endemic countries, urbanization of rural areas, and expansion of irrigated crops have influenced the distribution trends and changes in this disease.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Cristina Vercelli, Luigi Bertolotti, Elisa Gelsi, Carlo Gazza, Giovanni Re
Summary: This study confirms the effectiveness of Afilaria SR in preventing Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs and demonstrates its good tolerability with few side effects.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Parasitology
Timothy G. Geary
Summary: Despite the perception that heartworm is a solved problem in veterinary medicine, increasing frequency and geographic distribution of heartworm infections, along with resistance to preventative therapies, pose ongoing challenges. The lack of basic information on heartworms limits research into new prevention and treatment methods. Recent advances in technical platforms and laboratory animal models offer opportunities for discovering new drugs, diagnostic biomarkers, and parasite-derived molecules, as well as insights into the host-parasite relationship.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Tiffany D. Tran, Brittany M. Nelms, Michelle L. Koschik, Jamesina J. Scott, Tara Thiemann
Summary: This study detected filarial parasites causing dog heartworm and deer body worm infections in mosquito samples collected from Lake County, CA. Aedes sierrensis and Anopheles freeborni were the main vectors for dog heartworm, while Aedes sierrensis and Anopheles franciscanus were the main vectors for deer body worm. The findings suggest that seasonality and other factors may influence the transmission of dog heartworm in the area.
JOURNAL OF VECTOR ECOLOGY
(2022)