McCall John W, Genchi Claudio, Kramer Laura H, Guerrero Jorge, Venco Luigi
Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
Adv Parasitol. 2008;66:193-285. doi: 10.1016/S0065-308X(08)00204-2.
Heartworm disease due to Dirofilaria immitis continues to cause severe disease and even death in dogs and other animals in many parts of the world, even though safe, highly effective and convenient preventatives have been available for the past two decades. Moreover, the parasite and vector mosquitoes continue to spread into areas where they have not been reported previously. Heartworm societies have been established in the USA and Japan and the First European Dirofilaria Days (FEDD) Conference was held in Zagreb, Croatia, in February of 2007. These organizations promote awareness, encourage research and provide updated guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heartworm disease. The chapter begins with a review of the biology and life cycle of the parasite. It continues with the prevalence and distribution of the disease in domestic and wild animals, with emphasis on more recent data on the spreading of the disease and the use of molecular biology techniques in vector studies. The section on pathogenesis and immunology also includes a discussion of the current knowledge of the potential role of the Wolbachia endosymbiont in inflammatory and immune responses to D. immitis infection, diagnostic use of specific immune responses to the bacteria, immunomodulatory activity and antibiotic treatment of infected animals. Canine, feline and ferret heartworm disease are updated with regard to the clinical presentation, diagnosis, prevention, therapy and management of the disease, with special emphasis on the recently described Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD) Syndrome in cats. The section devoted to heartworm infection in humans also includes notes on other epizootic filariae, particularly D. repens in humans in Europe. The chapter concludes with a discussion on emerging strategies in heartworm treatment and control, highlighting the potential role of tetracycline antibiotics in adulticidal therapy.
尽管在过去二十年里已有安全、高效且便捷的预防药物，但由犬恶丝虫引起的心丝虫病在世界许多地区仍继续导致犬类和其他动物患上严重疾病甚至死亡。此外，这种寄生虫和作为传播媒介的蚊子还在不断扩散到此前未报告过它们的地区。美国和日本已成立了心丝虫协会，2007年2月在克罗地亚萨格勒布召开了第一届欧洲恶丝虫日（FEDD）会议。这些组织提高人们的认识，鼓励开展研究，并为心丝虫病的诊断、治疗和预防提供最新指南。本章首先回顾了该寄生虫的生物学特性和生命周期。接着阐述了该病在 domestic 和野生动物中的流行情况及分布，重点介绍了有关该病传播的最新数据以及分子生物学技术在媒介研究中的应用。关于发病机制和免疫学的部分还讨论了目前对沃尔巴克氏体共生菌在对犬恶丝虫感染的炎症和免疫反应中的潜在作用、针对该细菌的特异性免疫反应在诊断中的应用、免疫调节活性以及对感染动物的抗生素治疗的认识。犬、猫和雪貂的心丝虫病在临床表现、诊断、预防、治疗和管理方面都有了更新内容，特别强调了最近描述的猫的心丝虫相关呼吸道疾病（HARD）综合征。专门论述人类心丝虫感染的部分还提到了其他动物流行病丝虫，尤其是欧洲人体内的匐行恶丝虫。本章最后讨论了心丝虫治疗和控制方面的新策略，强调了四环素类抗生素在成虫杀灭疗法中的潜在作用。
