Article
Molecular characterization of canine filarioids in a previously non‑endemic area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
Registro en:
VIEIRA, Viviane Marques de Andrade et al. Molecular characterization of canine filarioids in a previously non‑endemic area of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Parasitology Research, On line Jan. 2022, p. 1 - 8, 2022.
2090-0031
10.1007/s00436-022-07433-7
Autor
Vieira, Viviane Marques de Andrade
Martiniano, Nicole Oliveira Moura
Silva, Priscila Pinho da
Paulino, Érica Tex
Fernandes, Priscila do Amaral
Labarthe, Norma
Gazêta, Gilberto Salles
Moraes Neto, Antonio Henrique Almeida de
Resumen
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.