Buchmann Kurt, Kania Per Walter, Johansen Per
Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Stigbøjlen 7, Frederiksberg C, DK-1870, Denmark.
Veterinary Clinic, Aakirkeby, Denmark.
Acta Vet Scand. 2025 Jul 1;67(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s13028-025-00820-x.
The filarioid nematode Dirofilaria repens infects mainly dogs and is transmitted by vector mosquitoes when biting the definitive host. The parasite has mainly been reported from Eastern and Southern Europe, but during recent decades it has expanded its geographic range to some countries in Central and Northern Europe. Here, we report the finding of a fully mature female D. repens in a dog in Denmark.
A female specimen of the filarioid nematode Dirofilaria repens (superfamily Filarioidea, family Onchocercidae) was isolated from a ruptured subcutaneous nodule in an 18 months old Border Collie on the Danish island of Bornholm. The dog was born in Italy, where it lived for the first 3 months of its life, whereafter it was imported to Denmark via Switzerland. Species diagnosis was based on molecular methods (Polymerase chain reaction PCR and sequencing of ribosomal DNA (rDNA, ITS) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA, COX1, NADH) in combination with morphometric characterization. The viviparous nematode was relatively small (total length 102 mm, broadest width 0.6 mm). It had a prominent uterus containing numerous eggs at different embryonation stages, some of which showed fully developed microfilariae.
Dirofilaria repens was originally reported from Southern Europe and Asia, but during recent decades, it expanded its distribution area northwards, allowing autochthonous transmission to occur in Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. The present report provides the first description from Denmark of a fully mature female worm in a dog imported from Italy. Known vectors include species of mosquitoes within the genera Aedes, Anopheles Coquillettidia and Culex, which are endemic in Denmark, reflecting the risk of future autochthonous transmission also in Denmark, where climatic conditions now allow larval development in the vectors. Although suspected to be an imported case, it cannot be excluded that the infection was contracted in Denmark.
丝状线虫匐行恶丝虫主要感染犬类，通过媒介蚊虫叮咬终末宿主进行传播。该寄生虫主要在东欧和南欧有报道，但在最近几十年里，其地理分布范围已扩展到中欧和北欧的一些国家。在此，我们报告在丹麦一只犬体内发现一条完全成熟的雌性匐行恶丝虫。
从丹麦博恩霍尔姆岛一只18个月大的边境牧羊犬破裂的皮下结节中分离出一条丝状线虫匐行恶丝虫（丝虫总科，盘尾丝虫科）雌性标本。这只犬出生于意大利，在其生命的前3个月生活在意大利，之后经瑞士进口到丹麦。物种诊断基于分子方法（聚合酶链反应PCR以及核糖体DNA（rDNA，ITS）和线粒体DNA（mtDNA，COX1，NADH）测序）并结合形态学特征。这条胎生线虫相对较小（全长102毫米，最宽处0.6毫米）。它有一个突出的子宫，里面有许多处于不同胚胎发育阶段的卵，其中一些显示出已完全发育的微丝蚴。
匐行恶丝虫最初在南欧和亚洲被报道，但在最近几十年里，其分布区域向北扩展，使得在德国、波兰、爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚、立陶宛和芬兰发生了本地传播。本报告首次描述了在丹麦一只从意大利进口的犬体内发现的一条完全成熟的雌虫。已知的传播媒介包括伊蚊属、按蚊属、库蠓属和库蚊属的蚊虫，这些在丹麦都是地方性的，这反映出丹麦未来也存在本地传播的风险，因为现在的气候条件允许媒介中的幼虫发育。尽管怀疑这是一例输入性病例，但不能排除感染是在丹麦感染的。
