Name
Latin: dirus = announcing mischief; filum = filament; immitis = severe, hard. English: heartworm
Geographic Distribution/Epidemiology
Worldwide. This species is found in carnivores (mainly dogs, cats, and relatives) but also in humans. It is estimated that millions of carnivores are infected in most regions of the tropics and subtropics, since, e.g., in Italy and Spain, prevalence rates of up to 80 % were found in dogs and up to 24 % in cats. Also, high numbers (several hundred thousands) of humans and free-living primates should be infected.
Morphology/Life Cycle
The adult worms (♀ and ♂) live in the right heart chambers and in the arteria pulmonaris, mainly of dogs and other canids. The females reach a length of up to 20–30 cm (Figs. 1, 2). Males are only 18 cm long at the maximum, and their spirally coiled posterior end shows two rows of five preanal papillae and two rows of six postanal papillae. Their two spicula have different lengths reaching 180–300 μm and 300–375 μm. The...
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References
Further Reading
Casiraghi M et al (2006) A simple molecular method for discriminating common filarial nematodes of dogs (Canis familaris). Vet Parasitol 141:368–372
Gianelli A et al (2013) Comments on potential efficacy of monthly administration of spot-on moxidectin 2.5 %/imidacloprid 10 % in prevention of major canine filariosis. Parasitol Res 112:3979–3980
Knott J (1939) A method for making microfilaria surveys on day blood. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 33:191–196
Magnis J et al (2013) Morphometric analyses of canine blood filariae. Parasit Vectors 6:48–54
McCall JW et al (2005) Heartworm disease in dogs and humans. Adv Parasitol 66:193–285
Nelson CT et al (2005) Guidelines for the diagnosis, prevention and management of heartworm Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs. Vet Parasitol 133:255–266
Pantchev N et al (2009) Current surveys on the prevalence and distribution of Dirofilaria spp. in dogs in Germany. Parasitol Res 105:S63–S74
Simon F et al (2007) Immunotherapy of Dirofilaria immitis infection. Vet Res Commun 31:161–171
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© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Mehlhorn, H. (2016). Dirofilaria immitis . In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43978-4_917
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43978-4_917
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