Dirofilaria repens microfilaremia in humans: Case description and literature review
Open accessAbstract
Dirofilaria repens is a vector-borne filaroid helminth of carnivorous animals, primarily domesticated dogs. Humans are considered to be accidental hosts in which D. repens rarely reach sexual maturity but induce local inflammation, mainly in subcutaneous and ocular tissues. In the current study, we present the detection of multiple adults of D. repens, endosymbiont Wolbachia sp. and microfilariae by molecular analysis in peripheral tissues and bloodstream of a human host. A subsequent meta-analysis of published literature identified 21 cases of human infection with adult D. repens producing microfilariae. Within the study population, there were 13 (59.09%) males, eight (36.36%) females and, in one (4.55%) case, sex was not reported. A total of 11 (50.00%) cases had subcutaneous dirofilariasis, six (27.27%) had ocular dirofiliariasis, with single cases (4.55% each) of genital, mammary, lymphatic and a combination of subcutaneous and pulmonary dirofilariasis described. In one (4.55%) case, the primary anatomical site of adult D. repens could not be found. D. repens microfilariae were detected in the local tissue (local microfilariasis) in 11 (50.00%) cases and the peripheral blood (microfilaremia) in 11 (50.50%) cases. Final identification of D. repens microfilariae was based on morphological detection in 14 (63.64%) cases, and molecular detection in eight (36.36%) cases. The results of this study suggest that humans may act as a final host for D. repens, however its role as a source of D. repens infection is less clear.
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Other mammals, including humans, may also be affected by D. repens, but they very rarely become final hosts or develop microfilaraemia.
“Other mammals, including humans, may also be affected [46], but they very rarely become the final hosts or develop microfilaraemia [47].”
From Emergent and Neglected Equine Filariosis in Egypt: Species Diversity and Host Immune Response (2022) · cites this paper as [47]
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Hattendorf, C., & Lühken, R. (2025) · Infectious Diseases of Poverty · doi:10.1186/s40249-025-01328-2 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
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“Other mammals, including humans, may also be affected [46], but they very rarely become the final hosts or develop microfilaraemia [47].”
Background
- Authors
- Pupić-Bakrač, A., Pupić-Bakrač, J., Beck, A., Jurković, D., Polkinghorne, A., & Beck, R.
- Affiliations
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Zagreb (HR)
- Croatian Veterinary Institute (HR)
- NSW Health Pathology (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Beck, Relja
- Venue
- One Health
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-12
- Volume
- 13
- Pages
- 100306
- ISSN
- 2352-7714 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8385151
- OpenAlex
- W3194199684
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 1.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- One Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Helminth infection and control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- Keywords
- Dirofilaria repens, human dirofilariasis, subcutaneous dirofilariasis, ocular dirofilariasis, Wolbachia, accidental hosts
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