[Human pulmonary dirofilariasis. A third case in Italy].
A new case of Human Pulmonary Dirofilariasis, the third in Italy, is described. It occurred in August 1990 in a 66 years old man, living in San Donà di Piave (province of Venice). The pulmonary infarctual lesion caused few symptoms and was discovered by chance during a chest X-ray examination as a coin lesion and suspected to be of a neoplastic origin. The histological findings allowed the exact diagnosis, identifying the causal agent as Dirofilaria probably repens, a nematode common parasite of dogs in the Old World and recognised agent of over 90 human cases of Subcutaneous Dirofilariasis reported in Italy. The parasite was an immature male in advanced regressive conditions. It was inside the lumen of a small artery, surrounded by necrotic-phlogistic tissue with granulomatous giantcellular aspects of the foreign body type. Some questions are raised by the authors in relation to the presence of human cases by D. repens and not by D. immitis (dog heartworm) in areas of Italy where this last species is much more prevalent than the former in canine populations; to the fact that the 3 Italian pulmonary cases (which are the only ones reported in Europe) happened in the same restricted geographic area (Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions); and finally to the fact that all the 3 cases occurred in elderly people.
Pampiglione
S
S
Cattedra di parassitologia, Facoltà di medicina veterinaria, Università di Bologna.
Candiani
G
G
Del Maschio
O
O
Pagan
V
V
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D004182:Dirofilaria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008174:Lung Diseases, Parasitic / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male
Dirofilariasi polmonare nell'uomo. Un terzo caso in Italia.