Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
Zoonotic Diseases and One Health Group, Laboratory of Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Salamanca, 37007, Salamanca, Spain.
Parasit Vectors. 2023 Jun 9;16(1):192. doi: 10.1186/s13071-023-05776-3.
Cats can be infected by Dirofilaria immitis, the causative agent of heartworm disease, characterized by respiratory signs, airway hyperreactivity, remodelling and inflammation. Allergy is a multifactorial pathology, and the role of a number of helminth parasites in the development of allergies in humans and other species has been demonstrated in many studies. The aim of the present study was to verify whether cats seropositive for D. immitis present hypersensitivity to some environmental allergens.
Blood samples were collected from 120 cats and tested for the presence of specific immunoglobulin G antibodies against D. immitis and for hypersensitivity to 20 allergens, using commercial allergen test kits.
Of the 120 cats tested, 72 (60.0%) were seropositive for anti-D. immitis IgG and 55 (45.8%) showed clinical signs of heartworm disease of a respiratory nature. The results of testing with the allergen kits showed that 50.8% of cats were seropositive for ≥ 1 allergens, with the most common allergens being Dermatophagoides farinae (25.8%), Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (20.0%), Malassezia (17.5%) and Ctenocephalides felis (14.2%). The prevalence of allergies was significantly higher-by almost threefold-in cats seropositive for D. immitis (68.1% vs. 25%). There were no significant differences between the prevalence of allergic cats and presence/absence of symptoms, and the results confirmed that symptoms were not a decisive factor for the presence of allergies. The risk for developing allergies was 6.3-fold higher in cats seropositive for D. immitis than in cats that were seronegative, confirming that seropositivity for D. immitis is a risk factor.
Cats with confirmed heartworm can develop serious respiratory signs, potentially leading to progression to permanent lung injury and predisposing cats to hyperresponsive airway disease. Previous studies have shown that seropositivity for D. immitis and Wolbachia is related to the presence of bronchoconstriction and bronchospasm in the affected cat. The results support the suspicion that contact with D. immitis may be a risk factor for the presence of allergies.
猫可能会感染心丝虫，这是一种引起心脏病的病原体，其特征是呼吸迹象、气道高反应性、重塑和炎症。过敏是一种多因素病理，许多研究已经证明，一些寄生虫在人类和其他物种过敏的发展中起作用。本研究旨在验证心丝虫阳性的猫是否对某些环境过敏原过敏。
采集 120 只猫的血液样本，使用商业过敏原检测试剂盒检测其是否存在针对心丝虫的特异性 IgG 抗体，以及是否对 20 种过敏原过敏。
在 120 只检测的猫中，72 只（60.0%）对心丝虫 IgG 呈血清阳性，55 只（45.8%）表现出呼吸道性质的心脏病症状。过敏原试剂盒检测结果显示，50.8%的猫对≥1 种过敏原呈血清阳性，最常见的过敏原是屋尘螨（25.8%）、粉尘螨（20.0%）、马拉色菌（17.5%）和猫栉首蚤（14.2%）。在心丝虫血清阳性的猫中，过敏的患病率显著更高（68.1%比 25%），几乎是三倍。在过敏猫和有/无症状之间，过敏的患病率没有显著差异，结果证实症状不是过敏存在的决定性因素。心丝虫血清阳性的猫患过敏的风险是血清阴性的猫的 6.3 倍，这证实了心丝虫血清阳性是一个危险因素。
确诊有心脏病的猫可能会出现严重的呼吸道症状，这可能导致永久性肺部损伤，并使猫易患高反应性气道疾病。先前的研究表明，心丝虫和沃尔巴克氏体的血清阳性与受感染猫的支气管收缩和支气管痉挛有关。这些结果支持这样一种怀疑，即接触心丝虫可能是过敏存在的一个危险因素。
