Naslov
Canine Dirofilariosis in Croatia : Spread and Public Health Impact

Autori
Živičnjak, Tatjana ; Martinković, Franjo ; Beck, Relja

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Abstracts of the 5th Croatian congress on infectious diseases / - , 2006

Skup
Croatian congress on infectious diseases (5 ; 2006)

Mjesto i datum
Zadar, Hrvatska, 23.08.2006. - 27.08.2006

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
Dog; Dirofilaria; zoonotic

Sažetak
The zoonotic filariae, Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens, have become increasingly recognized worldwide as inadvertent human pathogens. The usual definitive host of D. immitis and D. repens is the domestic dog although some other species can act as alternate hosts. These species, will also maintain blood levels of circulating microfilaria sufficiently high to act as reservoirs of infections for mosquito intermediate hosts. Other vertebrates including man may act as aberrant or dead-end hosts. These species may become infected from the bite of a vector mosquito, but they do not develop a microfilaremia because migrating Dirofilaria fails to reach sexual maturity. In humans, the pathology of the condition is associated with aberrant localization of immature worms that do not reach adulthood ; therefore, microfilariae are absent.The adult D. immitis in dog live in the dog's pulmonary artery and "right" heart whereas in humans is usually associated with pulmonary lesions or radiological coin lesions of the lung that may be asymptomatic. The major concern of this disease is that in making the diagnosis the patients undergo the risk of surgery because of the presumed preoperative diagnosis of cancer. Greater awareness of this disease is needed . The adult D. repens worms live mainly in the sub- cutaneous tissue of dogs, deposit microfilariae that circulate in the blood. In humans, the most common localization is a subcutaneous or submucosal nodule but ophthalmic involvement is also described. Breast nodules resulting from D. repens infection also commonly are misdiagnosed as potential tumorous masses and are observed in hyperendemic areas for the parasite, usually Italy and Sri Lanka. Recent survey among 600 adult dogs randomly picked all over Croatia in urban and rural environment displayed that D. repens is widely represented in almost all the regions. D. immitis was detected only in littoral Croatia, especially Istrian penninsula and Dubrovačko-neretvanska County. Diagnostic methods performed were the modified Knott's test for microfilariae detection, morfometric analyses and PCR on isolated microfilariae, and detection of D. immitis circulating antigen. Prevention of canine infection should be the easiest way to prevent infection in humans.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Veterinarska medicina

POVEZANOST RADA