Prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis in stray dogs from Sofia, Bulgaria

Abstract

Dirofilaria immitis is a nematode parasite which is the causative agent of a serious pulmonary-cardiac disorder called Heartworm disease. It affects mainly dogs and rarely cats. The infection is transmitted by mosquitoes thus stray dogs and wild carnivores are expected to be an important reservoir of the infection. The aim of the study is to update the current knowledge about the distribution of D. immitis among stray dogs from Sofia, Bulgaria. The survey included 293 dogs which were examined with rapid blood test for circulating D. immitis antigens. The percentage of positive animals was 11.26 % which is comparable with the results of similar studies from different regions of Bulgaria. The epidemiological datareceived indicates that D. immitis infection is endemic in stray dogs in Sofia.