title: Echocardiographic diagnosis of dirofilariasis in a ferret.
abstract: Heartworm disease is described in a 14-month-old neutered female ferret (Mustela putorius furo) which had a three-week history of sneezing, anorexia and dyspnoea. Echocardiography revealed the presence of heartworms as hyperechoic densities within the right atrial and ventricular cavities. At necropsy, four Dirofilaria immitis parasites (three females, one male) were found in the right heart, the cranial vena cava and the caudal vena cava. Histopathological findings were similar to those reported in canine heartworm disease. Echocardiography may be a useful method of diagnosis of heartworm disease in the ferret.
authors.affiliation: Kitasuma Veterinary Hospital, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kotani
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukata
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004183:Dirofilaria immitis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D005289:Ferrets; D008297:Male