Autochthonous Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in dogs in The Netherlands

Until recently, autochthonous infections with Angiostrongylus vasorum were not thought to occur in The Netherlands. However, in 2007 four dogs were diagnosed with angiostrongylosis. Three of them had never left the country. Subsequently, faecal samples from 485 dogs living in the same region where the positive dogs had been diagnosed in 2007 were collected through veterinarians, hunting associations and kennels between January and April 2008. A. vasorum larvae were found in faecal samples of four dogs. Three of those had never been outside the country. Though only few samples were found positive, A. vasorum is now considered autochthonous in The Netherlands.