OCCURRENCE OF DIROPHILARIA IMMITIS IN CANIS FAMILIARIS - CASE REPORT

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.9733202307121

• Palavras-chave: Canidae. Heartworm disease. Amazon.

• Keywords: Canidae. Heartworm disease. Amazon.

• Abstract:

  Dirofilaria immitis is a hematophagous nematode, which parasitizes the circulatory system, causing heartworm disease, an anthropozoonosis, which has a chronic nature and can form thrombi and calcified nodules in the lungs of human beings. Transmitted mainly by mosquitoes of the following genera: Aedes, Culex and Anopheles, where microfilariae, the parasite's first life forms, are developed. Dogs become infected during mosquito prey, causing the larvae to migrate from the subcutaneous tissue to the peripheral circulation, until it reaches the target organ of parasitism, and may accidentally affect humans. This work aims to report a parasitic finding in a necropsy of heartworm disease in a dog in the municipality of Belém do Pará in northern Brazil. Diagnosed through necropsy, where conventional necropsy methods were used to identify the parasite, the place where it was found, its anatomy and bibliographic references. The main finding was a parasite in the left ventricle, later identified as Dirofilaria immitis, measuring 16 centimeters, in addition to the presence of an aortic thrombus. Considering that Dirofilaria immitis infection is an emerging zoonosis, mainly in domestic areas with poor infrastructure and basic sanitation, which become environments suitable for the reproduction of mosquitoes that vector the disease. Therefore, it is necessary for the veterinarian to act from case recognition to epidemiological control. These findings are important due to their relevance to public health and animal welfare.