Prevalence of canine heartworm in dogs from monterrey, Mexico

Abstract

Canine dirofilariosis is a vector-borne disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis and causes severe clinical signs. A high prevalence has been reported in the USA and other countries while in Mexico it has been lower. In the present study 391 dogs were sampled at random at the city of Monterrey, Mexico and were tested by the ELISA method using a canine commercial kit. Only 28 animals resulted positive (7%) and included different dog breeds and mixed blood animals. According to sex, 18 were males and 10 females while the prevalence was higher in animals with short hair. According to exposition to pest control and place of stay, animals that have been exposed to insecticides and were kept outside the house had a higher prevalence of D. immitis. These results are in agreement with previous studies that have also performed random sampling in the same city. © Medwell Journals, 2012.