No abstract

Dirofilaria immitis is the causal agent of canine and feline cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis. Moreover, the existence of canine dirofilariasis implies a risk for human populations living in an endemic area in which, the parasite can cause pulmonary dirofilariasis. The Spanish epidemiological situation is not well understood, lacking data from many central and Northern provinces. In our study, epidemiological data on canine and human dirofilariasis for La Rioja (Northern Spain) have been obtained for the first time. The overall prevalence of D. immitis in dogs was 12% (9% of patent and 3% of occult infections), being 11.6% the seroprevalence of human residents in this province. The geographic distribution of both canine and human D. immitis infections in La Rioja is restricted to humid and irrigated areas near the Ebro Valley River, being absent in the rest of the province where hills and mountains predominate.

Ascaridia galli is a common nematode found in the intestine of domesticated chickens. The objectives of the study were to conduct a coprological and serological survey on the prevalence of ascaridiosis in laying hens of commercial farms. The farms recently adopted a breeding programme, where the hens have access to outdoor pens. Different amounts of Ascaridia eggs were detected in five of seven studied farms, while the other two farms were found to be free from the parasite. Serological tests revealed a seroprevalence of 21.8% (range 7.6-95%). No positive serum samples were detected in the same farms with previous negative coprological analysis. Western blot analyses confirmed the results obtained by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. In four experimentally infected hens, a progressive increase of the IgG antibody levels was observed, surpassing the cut-off point established for ELISA test 6 weeks post-infection. Serological tests are able to detect the infection before the eggs of the parasite appear in the faeces of infected hens, providing a useful tool to detect infections with Ascaridia spp. in avian farms.

No abstract

SummaryCanine dirofilariasis is widespread in urban areas of central and northern Colombia. Previously we detected specific antibodies against complex antigens from Dirofilaria immitis adult worms in individuals from an isolated Tikuna Indian community in the Colombian Amazon. In this study a 56 kDa polypeptide from the adult D. immitis excretory/secretory (E/S) products is identified by Western blot, isolated by elution from polyacrilamide gels and applied in an ELISA-based test for the detection of specific IgG. Eleven of 74 serum samples analysed were positive by ELISADi56. Positive individuals came from five different areas of Colombia. The highest number of positives was found in the Amazon (4), followed by Bogotà (3). The physicians of the area must be alerted regarding the existence of human D. immitis infections and include dirofilariasis in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary nodules.keywords I-specific IgG, humans, 56 kDa specific antigen, Dirofilaria immitis,