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Current surveys on the prevalence and distribution of Dirofilaria spp. and Acanthocheilonema reconditum infections in dogs in Romania

Parasitology Research volume 114, pages 975–982 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

During the last decades, Dirofilaria spp. infection in European dogs has rapidly spread from historically endemic areas towards eastern and northeastern countries, but little or no information is available from these geographical regions. The present study provides a picture of filarial infections in dogs from Romania and compares two tests for the diagnosis of Dirofilaria immitis. From July 2010 to March 2011, blood samples were collected from 390 dogs from nine counties of Romania and serological SNAP tests were performed for the detection of D. immitis antigen. The remaining blood clots were subsequently used for DNA extraction followed by multiplex PCR for assessing filarioid species diversity (i.e. D. immitis, Dirofilaria repens and Acanthocheilonema reconditum). Based on molecular detection, an overall prevalence of 6.92 % (n = 27; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 4.70–10.03 %) for D. repens, 6.15 % (n = 24; 95 % CI 4.07–9.14 %) for D. immitis and 2.05 % (n = 8; 95 % CI 0.96–4.16 %) for A. reconditum was recorded, with significant variations according to sampling areas. Coinfections of D. immitis and D. repens were recorded in 23.91 % (n = 11) positive dogs. A slightly higher prevalence for D. immitis was detected at the SNAP test (n = 28, 7.17 %; 95 % CI 4.91–10.33 %), but this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.66). However, only 53.57 % (n = 15) of antigen-positive dogs were confirmed by PCR, while other dogs (n = 9) PCR positive for D. immitis were negative at the serology. The present study shows that Dirofilaria species are endemic in the southern and southeastern areas of Romania, This article also provides, for the first time, an epidemiological picture of the distribution of A. reconditum in Romania.

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Acknowledgments

The research was financed from grant PCE 236/2011. The work was done under the frame of EurNegVec COST Action TD1303. Dr. Mirabela Dumitrache’s work was financed by POSDRU grant no. 159/1.5/S/136893, grant with title “Parteneriat strategic pentru creşterea calităţii cercetării ştiinţifice din universităţile medicale prin acordarea de burse doctorale şi postdoctorale – DocMed.Net_2.0. We are indebted to local veterinary personnel and regional veterinary authorities as well to the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve for issuing research permits. We also wish to express our gratitude to Martina Gallusová, Moneeb Qablan and Stefania Latrofa.

Conflict of interest

There are no commercial associations for author N.P. of IDEXX Laboratories; there is no commercial conflict of interest since the information generated here is solely for scientific dissemination. There are no conflicts of interest to report by any author.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăştur 3-5, 400372, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Angela Monica Ionică, Ioana Adriana Matei, Viorica Mircean, Mirabela Oana Dumitrache, Gianluca D’Amico, Adriana Győrke & Andrei Daniel Mihalca

  2. IDEXX Laboratories, 71636, Ludwigsburg, Germany

    Nikola Pantchev

  3. Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Str. prov. per Casamassima km 3, 70010, Valenzano, Bari, Italy

    Giada Annoscia & Domenico Otranto

  4. Department of Pathology and Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 612 42, Brno, Czech Republic

    Kateřina Albrechtová & David Modrý

  5. CEITEC –VFU, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackého tř. 1/3, 612 42, Brno, Czech Republic

    David Modrý

  6. Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    David Modrý

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  1. Angela Monica Ionică
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  2. Ioana Adriana Matei
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Correspondence to Angela Monica Ionică.

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Ionică, A.M., Matei, I.A., Mircean, V. et al. Current surveys on the prevalence and distribution of Dirofilaria spp. and Acanthocheilonema reconditum infections in dogs in Romania. Parasitol Res 114, 975–982 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4263-4

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Keywords

  • Dogs
  • Dirofilaria
  • Acanthocheilonema
  • Romania
  • Prevalence
  • Distribution
  • Diagnosis