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Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs: unusually located and unusual findings

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Abstract

Clinical, blood, serum biochemistry, and parasitological assessments were performed on four hospitalized dogs, not in good general condition, in a study carried out to determine the prevalence of general parasitic infections. Hematological and biochemical parameters and electrocardiographic recording of the animals were determined during the general clinical examinations. Four dogs were indicated to have been infected with Dirofilaria immitis by using modified Knott’s method, and the microfilarial density was determined. Mild to moderate anemia and decrease in sedimentation velocity were established in dogs. Differences in other hematological and biochemical values between the dogs were determined. Right axis deviation was determined in a dog. D. immitis was encountered in the right ventricle, bronchus, and the pericardial sac at the end of the necropsy. On the other hand, in the histopathological examinations, pulmonary adenocarcinoma deriving from bronchial epithelium was identified in a dog, and microfilaria was encountered in bronchial and bronchiolar lumens, interstitium of the lungs, and bile ducts. D. immitis has not been considered in the diagnosis of dogs with pneumonia and tumors. The requirement of parasitological examination with respect to D. immitis in the diagnosis of dogs with tumor or pneumonia has been considered vital.

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Acknowledgment

The project numbered 06.VF.15 was supported by the Research Foundation of Afyon Kocatepe University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, Ahmet Necdet Sezer Kampusu, 03200, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

    Feride Kircali Sevimli, Esma Kozan & Mustafa Köse

  2. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, 03200, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

    Aziz Bülbül

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, 03200, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

    Fatih Mehmet Birdane

  4. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Afyon Kocatepe University, 03200, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

    Alper Sevimli

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  1. Feride Kircali Sevimli
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  2. Esma Kozan
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Correspondence to Feride Kircali Sevimli.

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Sevimli, F.K., Kozan, E., Bülbül, A. et al. Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs: unusually located and unusual findings. Parasitol Res 101, 1487–1494 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-007-0665-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-007-0665-x

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