Hyperendemic Dirofilaria immitis infection in a sheltered dog population: an expanding threat in the Mediterranean region.

Abstract A study on the occurrence of Dirofilaria immitis and of its vectors was carried out in order to assess the prevalence of the disease in previously non-endemic areas of southern Italy. Blood samples (n = 385) and mosquitoes (n = 1,540) were collected in two dog shelters and analysed by Knott’s test and duplex real-time PCR, respectively. Dirofilaria immitis was the most prevalent filarioid (44.2%), while Culex pipiens was the most prevalent mosquito species (68.8%). This high prevalence of D. immitis infection confirms this location as one of the most hyperendemic foci of dirofilariosis in Europe.