Dirofilaria repens in dogs and humans in Slovenia

• Published in: Journal of veterinary research 2022-03, Vol.66 (1), p.117-123
• Main Authors: Kotnik, Tina, Rataj, Aleksandra Vergles, Šoba, Barbara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: d. repens; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Dirofilaria repens; dirofilariasis; DNA; dogs; Epidemiology; humans; Polymerase chain reaction; prevalence
• ISSN: 2450-7393; 2450-8608; 2450-8608
• DOI: 10.2478/jvetres-2022-0008

The prevalence of in dogs in countries bordering Slovenia ranges from 1.5% to 47.3%. The aim of this study was to estimate its prevalence in Slovenian dogs and to present the cases of dirofilariasis diagnosed in humans from 2010 to 2020. Epidemiological data were collected and blood samples were taken from 465 dogs older than one year and born in Slovenia. A real-time PCR was performed on all samples to detect filarioid DNA, and a -and -specific real-time PCR was performed on positive samples. Blood samples from 446 dogs were tested for spp. using a modified Knott's test. Human cases were diagnosed from histological sections of excised subcutaneous nodules. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise the samples. The one-sample nonparametric chi-squared test was used to assess whether categories of a variable were equally distributed. Three dogs' samples tested positive for using the species-specific real-time PCR, while DNA was not detected. The modified Knott's test was positive in two of the three PCR-positive dogs, two of which had never travelled outside Slovenia's borders. Four human patients with dirofilariasis were diagnosed. Since their travel history was unknown, autochthonous transmission could not be confirmed. Our study demonstrated a 0.64% prevalence of infection in dogs in Slovenia. Two cases could be autochthonous.