title: [Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy, 1856) in the neighborhood of a feline case: a study about the transmission].
abstract: Dirofilaria immitis preferably infects canids and can, in lower frequency, be found in cats (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758). The parasite may be transmitted by various Culicidae species. Motivated by an autochtone feline heartworm case diagnosed in the region of Engenho Novo - RJ (S 22 degrees 90' e WO 43 degrees 27'), the following issues were surveyed: 1) the local Culicidae fauna and; 2) the ocurrence of microfilaremic dogs. The mosquito study was conducted from April 2003 through May 2004, by peri-domiciliary and intra-domiciliary captures. A total of 672 mosquitoes (female) of the following species were caught: Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) (561/672-83.5%); Culex quinquefasciatus Say (96/672-14.3%); Aedes (Oc.) scapularis (Rondani) (12/672-1.8%) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (3/672-0.4%). Only A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus specimens were captured year-round. A total of 235 canine blood samples were collected during the Campanha de Vacinação "Rio Sem Raiva" in October 2003. No microfilaria could be found in any of the examined samples (Knott s and NAN techniques), even though only 3.4% of the dogs received chemoprophylaxis and the majority of them frequently traveled to endemic areas. The presence of vectors associated to a possible dog mobility, may have provided the right scenario for the feline D. immitis infection to happen in the studied area.
authors.affiliation: Universidade do Grande Rio-UNIGRANRIO, Rua Passo da Pátria, 261, Duque de Caxias-RJ, Brazil. aline-serricella@infolink.com.br
authors.forename: Aline Serricella
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Branco
authors.forename: Flavya
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mendes-de-Almeida
authors.forename: Maria Carolina Ferreira
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Faria
authors.forename: Letícia Mattos
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: de Souza-Dantas
authors.forename: Norma Vollmer
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Labarthe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D002415:Cats; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000635:transmission*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male