Fakulteti i Mjeksise Veterinare, Universiteti Bujqësor, Kodër Kamëz, Tirana, Albania.
Parasitol Res. 2010 Jul;107(2):481-5. doi: 10.1007/s00436-010-1914-y. Epub 2010 May 25.
Blood samples from 260 dogs over 1 year of age from eight districts of the western part of Albania (20 to 50 dogs per district) were collected in 1995 and 1996 and tested for circulating Dirofilaria immitis antigen using the PetChek HTWM PF (IDEXX) ELISA test kit. Overall seroprevalence of D. immitis infection among these dogs was 13.5% (95% confidence interval = 9.3-17.6%), ranging from 5% to 30% between the districts of origin of the dogs. There was no difference for the seroprevalence of heartworm infection between the sexes and age classes or between pure and mixed breed dogs; however, D. immitis seroprevalence was significantly (p < 0.0001) higher in dogs presenting cardiopulmonary signs (83.3%) compared to clinically inconspicuous dogs (10.1%).
1995 年至 1996 年，从阿尔巴尼亚西部八个地区的 260 只 1 岁以上的狗中采集了血液样本（每个地区 20 至 50 只狗），并使用 PetChek HTWM PF（IDEXX）ELISA 检测试剂盒检测循环的犬恶丝虫抗原。这些狗的犬恶丝虫感染血清阳性率总体为 13.5%（95%置信区间为 9.3-17.6%），各地区之间的血清阳性率在 5%至 30%之间不等。在性别、年龄类别或纯种犬和混种犬之间，心丝虫感染的血清阳性率没有差异；然而，患有心肺症状的狗（83.3%）的犬恶丝虫血清阳性率明显（p < 0.0001）高于临床无症状的狗（10.1%）。
