Dirofilariosis in humans and animals: Two faces of one disease

Abstract

Today, when animals have become family members, thus bringing a whole spectrum of positive effects on both the mental and physical health of people, the more we must bear in mind the potential hazards arising from such a relationship in order to make possessing companion animals both pleasant and safe. One such threat is undoubtedly dirofilariosis. Dirofilariosis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by the invasion of mosquito-borne nematodes of the genus Dirofilaria. Man is an accidental host of the parasite. Although dirofilariosis is considered to be an endemic disease of Mediterranean and US origin, which rarely affects humans, the increasing number of diagnosed cases in animals in Poland may in the near future result in frequent invasion of the parasite also in humans in our country. Frequent animal movements as well as the presence in Poland of mosquitoes capable, as a result of climate change, of carrying the pathogen seem to confirm this thesis. Clinical displays of human parasite invasion are mostly pulmonary, subcutaneous and ocular forms, as well as some others, which occur less frequently. Appropriate prophylaxis in animals, as well as the complex treatment of existing invasion, provides both animals and humans with security and comfort of life.