First report of Dioctophyma renale (Nematoda, Dioctophymatidae) in Colombia

Abstract

Dioctophymosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Dioctophyma renale (Goeze, 1782). It is distributed worldwide and it affects a large number of wild and domestic mammals. Here we report the first confirmed case of canine dioctophymosis in Colombia. The animal was found dead in the streets of the municipality of Yondó, Antioquia, and its dead body was taken to the Instituto Universitario de la Paz (UNIPAZ) to carry out a necropsy. A parasite worm was found in the right kidney and sent for identification to the Laboratorio de Parasitología of the Universidad de Santander (UDES). The specimen was identified as a male of D. renale upon observing the typical oval and transversely elongated bell-shaped bursa copulatrix with a spicule and no rays. Another important factor to confirm the diagnosis was the anatomical location in the kidney. This is the first time D. renale is reported in a stray dog in Colombia.