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Dirofilariosis

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Arthropod Borne Diseases

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Abstract

Dirofilarioses are diseases caused by spirurid nematodes of the genus Dirofilaria, which are transmitted by several mosquito species. The most important species causing dirofilariosis in dogs are Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens, which may also affect other mammals, including cats and humans. Dirofilaria immitis causes heartworm disease in dogs and may eventually lead to the formation of pulmonary nodules in humans, which may be often confounded with malignant tumors. Dirofilaria repens in dogs is usually asymptomatic, but in humans the parasite may localize in different tissues and organs (e.g., the eyes, lungs, and testicles) and cause disease. The diagnosis of cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis is usually based on clinical signs and laboratorial tests, including the modified Knott test for the detection of circulating microfilariae and rapid serological tests, targeting antigens of or antibodies to the parasite. Molecular tools have also been recently developed but are still mostly restricted to research centers and universities. This chapter reviews general aspects related to the etiology, epidemiology, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, and control of dirofilariosis.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See footnote 1 in Chap. 2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology, Aggeu Magalhães Research Center, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Filipe Dantas-Torres

  2. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy

    Filipe Dantas-Torres & Domenico Otranto

  3. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy

    Emanuele Brianti

Authors
  1. Filipe Dantas-Torres
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  2. Emanuele Brianti
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  3. Domenico Otranto
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Correspondence to Filipe Dantas-Torres .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Carlos Brisola Marcondes

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Dantas-Torres, F., Brianti, E., Otranto, D. (2017). Dirofilariosis. In: Marcondes, C. (eds) Arthropod Borne Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13884-8_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13884-8_28

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