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Human Dirofilaria repens infection in Serbia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2009

A.M. Džamić ,
I.V. Čolović ,
V.S. Arsić-Arsenijević ,
S. Stepanović ,
I. Boričić ,
Z. Džamić ,
S.M. Mitrović ,
D.M. Rašić ,
I. Stefanović  and
Z. Latković
...Show all authors
A.M. Džamić*
Affiliation:
Departments of Parasitology-Mycology and Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
I.V. Čolović
Affiliation:
Departments of Parasitology-Mycology and Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
V.S. Arsić-Arsenijević
Affiliation:
Departments of Parasitology-Mycology and Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
S. Stepanović
Affiliation:
Departments of Parasitology-Mycology and Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
I. Boričić
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Pathology, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
Z. Džamić
Affiliation:
Clinic of Urology, Clinical Center of Serbia and Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
S.M. Mitrović
Affiliation:
Departments of Parasitology-Mycology and Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
D.M. Rašić
Affiliation:
Institute for Eye Diseases, Clinical Center of Serbia and Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
I. Stefanović
Affiliation:
Institute for Eye Diseases, Clinical Center of Serbia and Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
Z. Latković
Affiliation:
Institute for Eye Diseases, Clinical Center of Serbia and Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
I.F. Kranjčić-Zec
Affiliation:
Departments of Parasitology-Mycology and Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Belgrade, 11000Belgrade, Serbia
*
*Fax: +381-11-2685 584 E-mail: dzamica@med.bg.ac.rs; medparbg@eunet.rs
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Abstract

Human infection by Dirofilaria repens in Serbia has been increasing steadily. The first case was reported in 1971, presented in the form of a single subcutaneous nodule on the back of a young boy. As established by a literature search, eight additional cases were reported until mid-2001. The most frequent site of infection was subcutaneous tissue, with the exception of two cases, in which parasites were found in subconjunctiva and epididymis. Our study, conducted from 2001 to 2008, encompasses 19 new cases. Most of them (63.1%) presented as ocular or periocular infections, in which the parasite was typically found under the conjunctiva. In other cases a parasitic nodule was localized in the temporal region of the head, epididymis, testicle, abdomen, breast or arm. The diagnosis was made by morphological and histological analysis of the extracted intact worms and parasite sections from the tissue. Morphology of the filarial worms was well preserved in more than half of the cases (12/19) and there was never more than one parasite found inside the lesions. Adult worms and immature nematodes were observed in nine and seven cases, respectively. Furthermore, in two cases microfilariae were discovered inside the pseudocoelom, sections of the female reproductive tubes filled with clearly visible larval stages. Dirofilaria repens infection was diagnosed by its morphological features (17/19) or by performing polymerase chain reactions (PCR) using paraffin-embedded tissues (2/19) in the cases where the morphology was insufficient for identification and the parasites had been determined initially as Dirofilaria spp. The amplified 246 bp PCR product showed that the worms were D. repens.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 83 , Special Issue 2: Symposium and related papers from the 10th European Multicolloquium of Parasitology , June 2009 , pp. 129 - 137
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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