Human Pulmonary Dirofilariasis: One More Case in Greece Suggests That Dirofilaria is a Rather Common Cause of Coin Lesions in the Lungs in Endemic Areas of Europe

Miliaras, Dimosthenis; Meditskou, Soultana; Kelekis, A.; Papachristos, Ioannis

doi:10.1177/039463201002300133

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Previous surveys from Greece have reported similar results; however, these were not large-scale studies and cannot be considered representative of the situation at a national level [18, 49, 50]. Additionally, dirofilariosis has also been previously reported in humans in Greece, a fact that underscores its zoonotic potential in the country [51, 52]. Nowadays, D. repens attracts more scientific interest as an emerging zoonotic agent than D. immitis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Prevalence and risk factors for selected canine vector-borne diseases in Greece

et al. 2019

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Background Canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) represent a wide group of diseases of major significance for canine health. In addition to their veterinary importance, many of these diseases are of great zoonotic concern, posing a risk of potential transmission to humans. To date, there has been scant knowledge regarding the prevalence, distribution and risk factors of CVBDs in Greece. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to update the current knowledge on the seroprevalence of Dirofilaria immitis , Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi ( sensu lato ) in dogs in Greece and, furthermore, to assess possible environmental and any other risk factors associated with these infections. A total of 1000 apparently healthy and randomly selected dogs, presented in veterinary clinics, were involved at the national level ( n = 66 municipalities). Serum samples were obtained from each individual dog and were tested using the SNAP ® 4Dx ® Plus kit from IDEXX Laboratories. Possible risk factors were assessed using binary regression models, including dogs’ lifestyle, climatological parameters and the altitude of the region. Results Overall, 21.8% (95% CI: 19.4–24.5%) of the sampled dogs were found to be seropositive to at least one of the four pathogens examined. The most prevalent pathogen was Ehrlichia spp. (12.5%, 95% CI: 10.6–14.7) followed by D. immitis (9.0%, 95% CI: 7.8–11.5) and Anaplasma spp. (6.2%, 95% CI: 4.9–7.9). The lowest prevalence (0.1%) was recorded for B. burgdorferi ( s.l. ) where only one dog was found to be positive. Among the examined risk factors, low mean temperature was found to increase the prevalence of Ehrlichia spp. ( P ≤ 0.001) and Anaplasma spp. ( P ≤ 0.001), while low minimum temperature increased the prevalence of D. immitis ( P ≤ 0.001). In addition, low total annual rainfall had an effect of the prevalence of Ehrlichia spp. ( P ≤ 0.01). Altitude also had a significant effect on the prevalence of D. immitis ( P ≤ 0.05) and Anaplasma spp. ( P ≤ 0.01). Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale seroepidemiological study of CVBDs in Greece. It has been evidenced that environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall and altitude can influence the prevalence and distribution of CVBDs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Prevalence and risk factors for selected canine vector-borne diseases in Greece

et al. 2019

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“…are traditionally endemic (Italy, France, Greece, and Spain) (302,328), with sporadic reports of small outbreaks of subcutaneous/ocular infections in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Norway (302). Over the following decade, more cases were reported in Mediterranean countries (5,9,106,128,138,155,160,177,183,201,274,323,325,326,329,331,343,353,357,379,387); at the same time, a series of cases was described in Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, and Austria, and sporadic cases occurred in seven other countries (Table 2) (19,20,25,44,54,127,148,209,217,244,341,412,461). In this decade (2000 to 2010), subcutaneous/ocular dirofilariasis expanded from southern to central and northern Europe (149,391,393).…”

Section: Dirofilariasis In Human Hostsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human and Animal Dirofilariasis: the Emergence of a Zoonotic Mosaic

et al. 2012

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SUMMARY Dirofilariasis represents a zoonotic mosaic, which includes two main filarial species ( Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens ) that have adapted to canine, feline, and human hosts with distinct biological and clinical implications. At the same time, both D. immitis and D. repens are themselves hosts to symbiotic bacteria of the genus Wolbachia , the study of which has resulted in a profound shift in the understanding of filarial biology, the mechanisms of the pathologies that they produce in their hosts, and issues related to dirofilariasis treatment. Moreover, because dirofilariasis is a vector-borne transmitted disease, their distribution and infection rates have undergone significant modifications influenced by global climate change. Despite advances in our knowledge of D. immitis and D. repens and the pathologies that they inflict on different hosts, there are still many unknown aspects of dirofilariasis. This review is focused on human and animal dirofilariasis, including the basic morphology, biology, protein composition, and metabolism of Dirofilaria species; the climate and human behavioral factors that influence distribution dynamics; the disease pathology; the host-parasite relationship; the mechanisms involved in parasite survival; the immune response and pathogenesis; and the clinical management of human and animal infections.

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“…However, cases of human dirofilariosis by D . immitis have been recently described in Italy, Greece and Spain [89-91] and this trend is at an increase in Europe, most likely paralleling the spread of infestation in dogs in central and north-eastern countries (e.g., south of Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and Slovak Republic) [5,7,48-52]. Hundreds of cases of human infestation by VBH have been reported worldwide [1], new cases continue to be reported from new geographic areas and it is likely that many more cases occur and are either unrecognized or go unreported.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe

et al. 2013

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Presently, 45% of the total human population of Europe, as well as their domestic and companion animals, are exposed to the risk of vector-borne helminths (VBH) causing diseases. A plethora of intrinsic biological and extrinsic factors affect the relationship among helminths, vectors and animal hosts, in a constantly changing environment. Although canine dirofilarioses by Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens are key examples of the success of VBH spreading into non-endemic areas, another example is represented by Thelazia callipaeda eyeworm, an emergent pathogen of dogs, cats and humans in several regions of Europe. The recent finding of Onchocerca lupi causing canine and human infestation in Europe and overseas renders the picture of VBH even more complicated. Similarly, tick-transmitted filarioids of the genus Cercopithifilaria infesting the skin of dogs were recently shown to be widespread in Europe. Although for most of the VBH above there is an increasing accumulation of research data on their distribution at national level, the overall impact of the diseases they cause in dogs and humans is not fully recognised in many aspects. This review investigates the reasons underlying the increasing trend in distribution of VBH in Europe and discusses the diagnostic and control strategies currently available. In addition, this article provides the authors’ opinion on some topics related to VBH that would deserve further scientific investigation.

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Human Pulmonary Dirofilariasis: One More Case in Greece Suggests That Dirofilaria is a Rather Common Cause of Coin Lesions in the Lungs in Endemic Areas of Europe

Cited by 16 publications

References 8 publications

Prevalence and risk factors for selected canine vector-borne diseases in Greece

Prevalence and risk factors for selected canine vector-borne diseases in Greece

Human and Animal Dirofilariasis: the Emergence of a Zoonotic Mosaic

Vector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe

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