The DOI matches its Crossref record; 258 of the 258 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Chapter 4 Heartworm Disease in Animals and Humans
Abstract
Heartworm disease due to Dirofilaria immitis continues to cause severe disease and even death in dogs and other animals in many parts of the world, even though safe, highly effective and convenient preventatives have been available for the past two decades. Moreover, the parasite and vector mosquitoes continue to spread into areas where they have not been reported previously. Heartworm societies have been established in the USA and Japan and the First European Dirofilaria Days (FEDD) Conference was held in Zagreb, Croatia, in February of 2007. These organizations promote awareness, encourage research and provide updated guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heartworm disease. The chapter begins with a review of the biology and life cycle of the parasite. It continues with the prevalence and distribution of the disease in domestic and wild animals, with emphasis on more recent data on the spreading of the disease and the use of molecular biology techniques in vector studies. The section on pathogenesis and immunology also includes a discussion of the current knowledge of the potential role of the Wolbachia endosymbiont in inflammatory and immune responses to D. immitis infection, diagnostic use of specific immune responses to the bacteria, immunomodulatory activity and antibiotic treatment of infected animals. Canine, feline and ferret heartworm disease are updated with regard to the clinical presentation, diagnosis, prevention, therapy and management of the disease, with special emphasis on the recently described Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD) Syndrome in cats. The section devoted to heartworm infection in humans also includes notes on other epizootic filariae, particularly D. repens in humans in Europe. The chapter concludes with a discussion on emerging strategies in heartworm treatment and control, highlighting the potential role of tetracycline antibiotics in adulticidal therapy.
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In the citing paper
“The likelihood of other carnivores such as cats or ferrets being involved in the transmission of Dirofilaria spp. should not be considered because microfilaraemia is absent or short-lasting in these hosts (Campbell and Blair 1978; McCall et al. 2008; Bajer et al. 2016).”
From The current situation of canine dirofilariosis in Hungary (2020) · cites this paper as McCall et al. 2008
In the citing paper
“This is mostly an issue for dirofilarioses in dogs which, in turn, can be easily prevented with a number of macrocyclic lactones administered in a way to kill D. immitis or D. repens larvae before they develop into adults in the heart/lungs or the subcutis, respectively.”
From Vector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe (2013) · cites this paper as [66]
In the citing paper
“However, microscopic detection of circulating microfilariae may lack in sensitivity.”
From Vector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe (2013) · cites this paper as [66]
In the citing paper
“An alternative method for diagnosing D. immitis infestation in dogs is the use of commercial kits for the detection of antigens released in the blood by adult females.”
From Vector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe (2013) · cites this paper as [66]
In the citing paper
“Single-sex infestations, low parasite burdens, immune reactions or past administration of parasiticides with microfilaricidal activity may cause lack of circulating larvae in up to 20–30% of dogs infected by D. immitis[66].”
From Vector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe (2013) · cites this paper as [66]
In the citing paper
“Microfilariae can be identified in the bloodstream of infected animals by microscopic techniques, using the Knott’s test, which is the gold standard method [66].”
From Vector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe (2013) · cites this paper as [66]
In the citing paper
“High positivity of Cx. pipiens s.l. for D. immitis and D. repens was demonstrated by both molecular and parasitological studies [54, 55].”
From Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens in mosquitoes from Corsica Island, France (2021) · cites this paper as [54]
In the citing paper
“The lengthy life cycle of these nematodes involves an intermediate mosquito host (in Europe mainly Culex pipiens, Aedes vexans and Aedes albopictus) that becomes infected by taking a blood meal from a reservoir host carrying an adequate number of circulating LI larvae (microfilariae).”
From Dirofilarioses in cats: European guidelines from the ABCD on prevention and management (2020) · cites this paper as [1]
In the citing paper
“Nevertheless, the lack of microfilariae in the reported infections indicates that these hosts play no significant role in the transmission of this disease (261).”
From Human and animal dirofilariasis: The emergence of a zoonotic mosaic (2012) · cites this paper as [261]
In the citing paper
“Canine cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis (heartworm disease) is a serious and potentially fatal disease caused primarily by adult D. immitis worms (144, 261, 440, 444) and their antigenic products, including Wolbachia symbiotic bacteria (216).”
From Human and animal dirofilariasis: The emergence of a zoonotic mosaic (2012) · cites this paper as [261]
In the citing paper
“The best option for clinical management is prophylaxis with macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin, selamectin, or imidacloprid-moxidectin), which in various doses and with different routes of application have high therapeutic success rates (261, 434).”
From Human and animal dirofilariasis: The emergence of a zoonotic mosaic (2012) · cites this paper as [261]
In the citing paper
“Other studies have shown that interfering with dirofilarial transmission using antibiotics is feasible (261,363).”
From Human and animal dirofilariasis: The emergence of a zoonotic mosaic (2012) · cites this paper as [261]
In the citing paper
“Doxycycline in combination with ivermectin or ivermectin plus melarsomine lowered the incidence of inflammatory pulmonary lesions and thrombi compared with controls treated with either doxycycline or melarsomine alone (213,261).”
From Human and animal dirofilariasis: The emergence of a zoonotic mosaic (2012) · cites this paper as [261]
In the citing paper
“Topical selamectin can be used to prevent cardio-pulmonary dirofilariosis in dogs and cats and, as mentioned above, this formulation is active against fleas and other major parasites of companion animals [107,138,139].”
From Fleas infesting pets in the era of emerging extra-intestinal nematodes (2013) · cites this paper as [138]
In the citing paper
“MLs can be used to prevent canine heartworm disease in both dogs and cats for their ability to kill third and fourth larval stages of D. immitis[138].”
From Fleas infesting pets in the era of emerging extra-intestinal nematodes (2013) · cites this paper as [138]
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Cited by
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Human and animal dirofilariasis: The emergence of a zoonotic mosaic
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Canine and feline cardiopulmonary parasitic nematodes in Europe: emerging and underestimated
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Self-citationVector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe
Otranto, D., Dantas-Torres, F., Brianti, E., Traversa, D., Petrić, D., Genchi, C., & Capelli, G. (2013) · Parasites & Vectors · doi:10.1186/1756-3305-6-16 · Cited by 336
Self-citationHeartworm Biology, Treatment, and Control
Bowman, D. D., & Atkins, C. E. (2009) · Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice · doi:10.1016/j.cvsm.2009.06.003 · Cited by 298
Metadata
- Authors
- McCall, J. W., Genchi, C., Kramer, L. H., Guerrero, J., & Venco, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Georgia (US)
- University of Milan (IT)
- University of Parma (IT)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Venue
- Advances in Parasitology
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Published
- 2008
- Volume
- 66
- Pages
- 193-285
- ISSN
- 0065-308X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1494995468
- Cited by
- 609
- References
- 258
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 51 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 95.83
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Advances in Parasitology/Advances in parasitology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Parasitology › Helminth infection and control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- Keywords
- heartworm disease, Dirofilaria immitis, canine heartworm disease, feline heartworm disease, Dirofilaria repens, Wolbachia endosymbiont, mosquito vectors, heartworm prevention, tetracycline antibiotics
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cat Diseases, Cats, Dirofilaria immitis, Dirofilariasis, Dog Diseases, Dogs, Female, Ferrets, Filaricides, Host-Parasite Interactions, Humans, Male, Symbiosis, Wolbachia
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