Ames: Iowa State University Press, Hoch, H. Jacobs, D. Principles of Veterinary Parasitology. Jones, J. Meisch, and F. Lee, A. Montgomery, J. Theis, Byron L. Blagburn, and M. Levine, Norman D. Nematode Parasites of Domestic Animals and Man. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Company, McCall, J. Genchi, L. Kramer, J.
Guerrero, and L. McKay, Tanya, T. Bianco, L. Rhodes, and S. Mumtaz, H. Ozdemir, and R. Patton, Sharon, and Malcolm D. Pistey, Warren R. Sawyer, Thomas K. Taylor, Michael L. Coop, and Richard L. Veterinary Parasitology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, Theis, J. Underwood, Paul C. Velasquez, L. Blagburn, R. Duncan-Decoq, E. Johnson, K. Allen, and J. Meinkoth et al. Wang, D. Bowman, H. Brown, L. Harrington, P.
Kaufman, Tanya McKay, C. Nelson, J. Sharp and R. Canine Heartworm Dirofilaria immitis Prevalence. Chris T. Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. For more information, contact or calsfoundation cals. Read our Privacy Policy. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account.
Creating an account gives you access to all these features. Go Back. Get Involved. Nominate an Entry Review Entries. Suggest a Topic or Author Suggest Media. Become a Volunteer Involve Students. Other Online Encyclopedias Other Resources. Lesson Plans History Day Heartworm: An emerging disease? It may seem to be an odd title when you consider Dirofilaria immitis was discovered in Italy in , and the first reported case in the United States was in One hundred twenty-seven years later, the American Heartworm Society was formed to further scientific progress in the study of heartworm disease and to promote effective procedures for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heartworm disease.
Over the past 36 years, tremendous strides have been made in achieving these goals. We now have a better understanding of the disease process and the complex host-parasite relationship. We have discovered the presence of a bacterial endosymbionts, Wolbachia , within heartworms themselves and are learning more about their role in the biology of D. We have effective treatment for dogs infected with heartworms and we have drugs that are virtually percent effective in preventing heartworms.
With so much progress in treatment and with such effective preventives, how can heartworm still be an emerging disease? Before I attempt to answer that question, I want you to look closely at the maps above.
It is pretty obvious with just a cursory glance that heartworms are spreading into areas previously considered non-endemic. The historically high endemic areas are reporting more cases per clinic in the latter part of the past decade than earlier in the decade. So why is a disease that is so preventable continuing to spread? Why has the average number of cases per clinic increased during the last decade? Simple, things change! The world is not the same as it was 30, 20, 10, five, or even one year ago.
For heartworms to become endemic in an area you need three factors in place. First is a reservoir of infection. This is typically microfilaremic dogs or wild canids that are relocated to an area previously devoid of heartworms. It can be the gradual creeping migration of infecting the dog next door to the dog in the next block to the dog in the next town and eventually the dog in the next state.
Humans and a wide range of other mammals are accidental hosts that play no role in the transmission of Dirofilaria. In these hosts, Dirofilaria larvae can develop into adult worms but the worms remain sexually immature and no microfilariae are produced.
Human infections with D. Coin lesions can also be caused by cancer and other serious diseases, and a coin lesion discovered accidentally on chest x-ray usually leads to an invasive procedure to learn the cause.
Most human cases of pulmonary dirofilariasis are diagnosed from samples taken during these procedures. Most reported cases of D. People with symptoms can have cough including coughing up blood , chest pain, fever, and pleural effusion excess fluid between the tissues that line the lungs and the chest cavity.
When D. Dirofilariasis is found throughout the world where Dirofilaria species are common. In the United States, canine dirofilariasis has been reported from all states, and D. Canine and human dirofilariasis are most prevalent in eastern and southeastern states, although rates are increasing rapidly in a number of western states.
One or both of these species have been found to cause human dirofilariasis in other parts of the world. In humans, dirofilariasis is diagnosed most frequently by the examination of tissue from areas of inflammation in the lung obtained as part of the diagnostic investigation of coin lesions small, round abnormalities on chest x-rays or from the examination of tissue in nodules under the skin.
Blood tests are not yet helpful in the diagnosis of dirofilariasis in humans. Dirofilariasis is transmitted neither person-to-person nor person-to-mosquito-to-person.
The transmission of dirofilariasis requires mosquitoes as the intermediate host as well as the production of microfilariae, which does not take place in humans. Dirofilariasis can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites in areas where mosquitoes may be infected with Dirofilaria larvae. The risk of such mosquito bites can be reduced by leaving as little skin exposed as possible, by the use of insect repellent when exposed to mosquitoes, and by sleeping under an insecticide-treated bednet in areas where Dirofilaria -infected mosquitoes bite at night and have access to sleeping areas.
The definitive treatment of Dirofilaria infection in humans is surgical removal of lung granulomas and nodules under the skin; this treatment is also curative. In many cases, no treatment with medicines is necessary. This information is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health care provider.
If you have any questions about the parasites described above or think that you may have a parasitic infection, consult a health care provider.
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