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Molecular characterization of canine filarioids in a previously non-endemic area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

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Abstract

Dirofilaria immitis is the causative agent of canine heartworm disease, a severe health problem in dogs, especially in coastal areas of tropical and subtropical regions of the world. We employed molecular methods to investigate the occurrence of canine infection by filarioids in five municipalities of Baixada Fluminense (Magé, Duque de Caxias, Guapimirim, Nova Iguaçu, and São João de Meriti), a non-endemic area of Rio de Janeiro State, Southeast Brazil. A total of 110 canine blood samples collected from 2017 to 2018 and positive for microfilariae at the modified Knott’s test were screened by cPCR targeting DNA fragments of the 12S rDNA gene for filarial nematodes. Seventy-seven samples (70%) tested positive at the molecular analysis. Of these, 72 were identified as D. immitis and 5 (4.5%) as Acanthocheilonema reconditum. Dirofilaria repens was not detected in the studied municipalities of Baixada Fluminense. This is the first record of D. immitis and A. reconditum in the Baixada Fluminense region, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The prevalence of D. immitis cases in the five municipalities suggests the establishment and maintenance of its enzootic cycle in the studied region, which indicate vulnerability to the occurrence of epidemic cycles and, possibly, human cases.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the present study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The nucleotide sequences of the dataset generated here are available on the Genbank website (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide/) with the accession numbers: MZ678855-MZ678931.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank to Dr. Jonimar Pereira Paiva (in memoriam) (Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for providing heartworm specimens for positive control in the molecular assays, to Dr. Erik R. Wild for English review and comments, and to Genomic Platform DNA Sequencing (PDTIS/ FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for sequencing support.

Funding

This study was conducted with the support of Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES—funding code 001) and Plano de Objetivos e Metas (POM) of the Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos – LITEB and Laboratório de Referência Nacional em Vetores das Riquetsioses (LIRN), Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos – LITEB; Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz – IOC; Av. Brasil 4365, Pavilhão Lauro Travassos, Térreo, salas 16 e 18, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21040-900, Brazil

    Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira, Priscila Pinho da Silva, Érica Tex Paulino & Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto

  2. Laboratório de Referência Nacional em Vetores das Riquetsioses – LIRN; Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – Fiocruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz – IOC; Av. Brasil 4365, Pavilhão Lauro Travassos, Anexo, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21040-900, Brazil

    Nicole Oliveira Moura Martiniano & Gilberto Salles Gazêta

  3. Laborlife Análises Clínicas, Rua Teresa Guimarães, 147, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22280-050, Brazil

    Priscila do Amaral Fernandes

  4. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Bioética, Ética Aplicada e Saúde Coletiva - PPGBios, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca - ENSP, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – Fiocruz; Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480, Prédio Ernani Braga, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21041-210, Brazil

    Norma Labarthe

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  1. Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira
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  2. Nicole Oliveira Moura Martiniano
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  3. Priscila Pinho da Silva
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  4. Érica Tex Paulino
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  5. Priscila do Amaral Fernandes
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  6. Norma Labarthe
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  7. Gilberto Salles Gazêta
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  8. Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto
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Contributions

Designed the study: Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira, Nicole Oliveira Moura Martiniano, Gilberto Salles Gazêta, Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto; collected and analyzed clinical data from the animals: Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira, Priscila Pinho da Silva, Norma Labarthe, Erica Tex Paulino, Gilberto Salles Gazêta, Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto; performed the screening blood analysis: Priscila do Amaral Fernandes, Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira; performed the molecular and phylogenetic analyses: Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira, Nicole Oliveira Moura Martiniano; interpreted the results and wrote the article: Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira, Nicole Oliveira Moura Martiniano, Gilberto Salles Gazêta, Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto, Erica Tex Paulino; reviewed and edited the final version of the manuscript: Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira, Nicole Oliveira Moura Martiniano, Gilberto Salles Gazêta, Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto; supervise: Gilberto Salles Gazêta, Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto.

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Ethics approval

The study was approved by the Animal Use Ethics Committee of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute/Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (CEUA-IOC-L009/2020) and by the Oswaldo Cruz Institute/Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Human Research Ethics Committee (CEP CAAE: 30759620.1.0000.5248).

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Conflict of interest

Norma Labarthe is a consultant for Boehringer Ingelheim, Idexx, and Zoetis in Brazil. Viviane Marques de Andrade Vieira, Nicole Oliveira Moura Martiniano, Priscila do Amaral Fernandes, Priscila Pinho da Silva, Érica Tex Paulino, Gilberto Salles Gazêta and Antonio Henrique Almeida de Moraes Neto declare that they have no competing interests.

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de Andrade Vieira, V.M., Martiniano, N.O.M., da Silva, P.P. et al. Molecular characterization of canine filarioids in a previously non-endemic area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Parasitol Res 121, 925–932 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07433-7

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