The first report of authochthonous dirofilariosis in dogs in the Czech Republic

Abstract

242 SummaryIn the Czech Republic, canine dirofilarial infection (Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens) is usually diagnosed in dogs coming from endemic areas and as such has been considered an imported infection. Here, 77 dogs that had never travelled abroad from the Břeclav area, close to Slovak border, were tested for Dirofilaria spp. infection. The presence of microfilaria in peripheral blood was detected by Knott test. Microfilariae were further examined by acid phosphatase staining and molecular methods (PCR). The presence of adult female D. immitis circulating antigens in blood was assessed by a commercial kit (PetChek, IDEXX Laboratories, Portland, USA). Microfilariae were detected in 7 (9 %) out of the 77 animals by the Knott test. The result of the acid phosphatase staining and PCR for all seven samples agreed with Dirofilaria repens species. Other five dogs of the 77 sera (6.5 %) sampled were serologically positive for circulating D. immitis antigens. No D. immitis microfilariae were found in these five dogs. D. repens positive dogs were negative on the ELISA for D. immitis. This is the first report of autochthonous cases of heartworm disease and subcutaneous dirofilariosis in dogs in the Czech Republic.

Phocid seals, seal lice and heartworms: a terrestrial host–parasite system conveyed to the marine environment

“…for heartworm infections with Dirofilaria immitis in dogs (Wang 1998) or malaria infections in humans (Estacio et al 1993). Other methods to detected mf in dogs (D. repens, D. immitis, A. reconditum) are Knott's test (Svobodová et al 2006), a simple molecular method (Casiraghi et al 2006), the serological (filter) test, and frequently used immunological methods for detecting circulating antibodies or antigens (Sacks et al 2002). Experience with these modern methods with regard to A. spirocauda are still lacking, and such tests must be validated before using them in wildlife populations.…”

Prevalence of Dirofilaria repens in dogs in central-eastern Poland and histopathological changes caused by this infection

“…Since 2005, cases of this parasitosis have been observed in dogs as well as in humans in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Russia and Poland (3,4,5,17,21,23,24,29). Dogs, cats, wild carnivores, and accidentally also humans are definitive hosts of Dirofilaria repens (1,17,19,21,29).…”

Autochthonous Babesia canis, Hepatozoon canis and imported Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs in the Czech Republic

“…In BLAST Majlathova et al 2011;Kubelova et al 2013). B. canis was previously reported from the CR; however, all cases were in dogs with a history of travel to endemic areas (Kucera 1992;Svobodova and Svobodova 2004). The most recent study failed to detect parasite DNA in non-travelling dogs or in ticks from the Czech Republic, but did report serologically positive individuals (Konvalinova et al 2012).…”

“…The most commonly discussed reasons include the changing ecology of ticks (Medlock et al 2013;Pfaffle et al 2013;Foldvari et al 2016;Rubel et al 2016) and international travel or transport of infected animals (Hamel et al 2011). Both of these situations apply also for the Czech Republic (Kucera 1992;Svobodova and Svobodova 2004;Materna et al 2008). The common use of highly sensitive PCR-based diagnostic tools, often combined with phylogenetic analyses, contributes not only to a growing rate of detection of these pathogens, but also to a better understanding of their diversity (Schnittger et al 2012;Carcy et al 2015).…”

“…Imported cases of clinical babesiosis caused by B. canis have also been repeatedly reported from the Czech Republic (CR) (Kucera 1992;Svobodova and Svobodova 2004), but no autochthonous case has been confirmed to date. The permanent presence of D. reticulatus in southern Moravia , together with a number of imported cases raised concerns that B. canis may become established as an endemic pathogen in this part of the CR.…”