Alho Ana Margarida, Landum Miguel, Ferreira Cátia, Meireles José, Gonçalves Luzia, de Carvalho Luís Madeira, Belo Silvana
Interdisciplinary Animal Health Research Centre (CIISA), Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal.
Medical Parasitology Unit, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira 100, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal.
Vet Parasitol. 2014 Nov 15;206(1-2):99-105. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2014.08.014. Epub 2014 Aug 30.
Dirofilariosis is a severe vector-borne emergent disease that is spreading worldwide and becoming a serious threat to human and veterinary public health. Portugal, a Mediterranean country, has favorable climate conditions for mosquito development and survival. At present, accurate data on the prevalence and epidemiological pattern of dirofilariosis in Portugal is scarce and outdated. To study these trends, a project was developed to assess the current prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis infection in shelter dogs as well as the prevalence of Dirofilaria species present in three coastal regions in central Portugal: Coimbra, Santarém, and Setúbal. Blood samples were collected from 696 shelter dogs during three consecutive years: 2011, 2012, and 2013. A rapid immunomigration technique was performed to detect female D. immitis antigens. Concurrently, to detect and identify circulating microfilariae, a modified Knott's technique and acid phosphatase histochemical staining were also performed. Of the 696 dogs sampled, 105 were positive for D. immitis, with an overall prevalence of 15.1%. Forty of the 105 dogs were antigen negative but were positive for D. immitis microfilariae. Three animals were co-infected with D. immitis and Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides, and there was also one dog infected only with A. dracunculoides, all confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. The highest prevalence of canine heartworm during the 3-y period was in Setúbal (24.8%), followed by Coimbra (13.8%), and Santarém (13.2%), with significant inter-district differences. Our results demonstrate a higher prevalence of dirofilariosis compared with findings of previous studies and show an increasing rate of infection in the southern areas of Portugal attributed, at least in part, to bioclimatic and ecological factors. The present study updates the epidemiological situation and correlates the risk of dirofilariosis transmission within each region. These findings are highly relevant to both human and veterinary public health, contributing to the general awareness of pet owners and veterinarian practitioners and reinforcing the need for effective control measures against vectors and preventive therapy in companion animals.
犬恶丝虫病是一种严重的媒介传播新发疾病，正在全球范围内蔓延，对人类和兽医公共卫生构成严重威胁。葡萄牙是一个地中海国家，拥有利于蚊子生长和存活的气候条件。目前，关于葡萄牙犬恶丝虫病的流行情况和流行病学模式的准确数据稀缺且陈旧。为研究这些趋势，开展了一个项目，以评估收容所犬中犬恶丝虫感染的当前流行率，以及葡萄牙中部三个沿海地区（科英布拉、圣塔伦和塞图巴尔）存在的恶丝虫种类的流行率。在2011年、2012年和2013年这连续三年中，从696只收容所犬采集了血样。采用快速免疫迁移技术检测犬恶丝虫雌虫抗原。同时，为检测和鉴定循环微丝蚴，还进行了改良的Knott氏技术和酸性磷酸酶组织化学染色。在采样的696只犬中，105只犬恶丝虫检测呈阳性，总体流行率为15.1%。105只犬中有40只抗原阴性，但犬恶丝虫微丝蚴检测呈阳性。3只动物同时感染了犬恶丝虫和麦地那龙线虫棘唇线虫，还有1只犬仅感染了麦地那龙线虫棘唇线虫，所有这些均通过聚合酶链反应得到证实。在这三年期间，犬心丝虫的最高流行率出现在塞图巴尔（24.8%），其次是科英布拉（13.8%）和圣塔伦（13.2%），地区间差异显著。我们的结果表明，与先前研究的结果相比，犬恶丝虫病的流行率更高，并且显示葡萄牙南部地区的感染率在上升，这至少部分归因于生物气候和生态因素。本研究更新了流行病学情况，并关联了每个地区内犬恶丝虫病传播的风险。这些发现对人类和兽医公共卫生都高度相关，有助于提高宠物主人和兽医从业者的总体认识，并强化针对媒介采取有效控制措施以及对伴侣动物进行预防性治疗的必要性。
