High Dipetalonema reconditum microfilarial counts in two dogs.

Dipetalonema reconditum microfilarial counts of 509 and 932/ml of blood, respectively, were found in 2 dogs thought to have been infected with Dirofilaria immitis. The high counts were attributed to a state of immunosuppression. It was concluded that microfilarial width is a more reliable criterion that microfilarial numbers for the differentiation of D immitis and D reconditum infections. For reliable width measurements, it is necessary to use the modified Knott or polycarbonate filter techniques, inasmuch as the cellulose filter technique gives misleading results.