title: Zoonotic ocular onchocercosis caused by Onchocerca lupi in dogs in Romania.
abstract: Onchocerca lupi is a filarial nematode, which infects the scleral conjunctival tissue of dogs, wolves and cats. Whilst adult nematodes localize in the conjunctive tissue of sclera or in the retrobulbar, microfilariae are found in the skin, and they are rarely diagnosed in asymptomatic animals. Since the first report of human ocular infection 5 years ago, up to 10 zoonotic cases have been identified in patients worldwide. We report, for the first time in Romania, three cases of canine ocular onchocercosis in dogs. Fragments of the harvested worms were characterized morphologically and molecularly. This article expands knowledge on the distribution of this parasite in Eastern Europe and sounds an alarm bell for ophthalmologists about the possible occurrence of human cases of O. lupi infection.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Poliana
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tudor
authors.affiliation: Institute for Diagnosis and Animal Health Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Turcitu
authors.affiliation: Agervet-Clinic Târgoviște, Târgoviște, Romania.
authors.forename: Cosmin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mateescu
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Aggeu Magalhães Research Institute, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.|Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Str. prov. per Casamassima km 3 Valenzano, 70010, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dantas-Torres
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Niculae
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tudor
authors.affiliation: Institute for Diagnosis and Animal Health Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Florica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bărbuceanu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, "Ion Ionescu de la Brad" University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Iași, Iași, Romania.|Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Lavinia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ciuca
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, "Ion Ionescu de la Brad" University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Iași, Iași, Romania.
authors.forename: Ioana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Burcoveanu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, "Ion Ionescu de la Brad" University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Iași, Iași, Romania.
authors.forename: Dumitru
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Acatrinei
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.affiliation: Agervet-Clinic Târgoviște, Târgoviște, Romania.
authors.forename: Romanița
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mateescu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Adina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bădicu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agronomical Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Iuliana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ionașcu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Str. prov. per Casamassima km 3 Valenzano, 70010, Bari, Italy. domenico.otranto@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Otranto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000469:parasitology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008842:Microfilariae; D009854:Onchocerca / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015827:Onchocerciasis, Ocular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012383:Romania; D012867:Skin / Q000469:parasitology; D015047:Zoonoses
keywords: Dogs; Ocular infection; Onchocerca lupi; Romania; Zoonotic helminth