The first report of authochthonous dirofilariosis in dogs in the Czech Republic

Abstract

In the Czech Republic, canine dirofilarial infection (Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens) is usually diagnosed in dogs coming from endemic areas and as such has been considered an imported infection. Here, 77 dogs that had never travelled abroad from the Břeclav area, close to Slovak border, were tested for Dirofilaria spp. infection. The presence of microfilaria in peripheral blood was detected by Knott test. Microfilariae were further examined by acid phosphatase staining and molecular methods (PCR). The presence of adult female D. immitis circulating antigens in blood was assessed by a commercial kit (PetChek, IDEXX Laboratories, Portland, USA). Microfilariae were detected in 7 (9 %) out of the 77 animals by the Knott test. The result of the acid phosphatase staining and PCR for all seven samples agreed with Dirofilaria repens species. Other five dogs of the 77 sera (6.5 %) sampled were serologically positive for circulating D. immitis antigens. No D. immitis microfilariae were found in these five dogs. D. repens positive dogs were negative on the ELISA for D. immitis. This is the first report of autochthonous cases of heartworm disease and subcutaneous dirofilariosis in dogs in the Czech Republic.