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Dirofilaria
Dirofilaria immitis and
D. repens in dog and cat
and human infections

Editors
Claudio Genchi, Laura Rinaldi, Giuseppe Cringoli
Reprinted in the IVIS website with the permission of the Editors
204 Free Communications

Dirofilariosis in dogs and wild carnivores in Bulgaria

Zvezdelina Kirkova, Andrey Ivanov, Dimitrina Georgieva
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, Stara Zagora,
Bulgaria

A study of the prevalence of the diro- samples were antigen positive.

filariosis in dogs and wild carnivores in
Bulgaria was conducted from 2001 to
2006. Blood samples from 487 dogs
out of heartworm prophylaxis originat-
ing from different parts of the country
were tested. Microfilariemia was found
in 42 (8.62%) of the samples by the
modified Knott’s test. Infected animals
were found in all parts of the country.
All microfilaria positive samples were
antigen positive by Pet Check
HTWMPT test (IDEXX). Three
(6.6%) of 45 microfilaria negative
The necropsy of 113 foxes, 56 jack-
als, 22 wild cats and 21 martens
revealed Dirofilaria immitis infection
in 4 (3%) of the foxes and 5 (8.9%) of
the jackals. The intensity of the infec-
tion was from 2 to 16 specimens.
Our results show that wild canides
are a natural reservoir and source of
infection for dogs. The trend of increas-
ing prevalence of dirofilariosis in dogs,
when compared to previous studies,
suggests that heartworm prophylaxis
should be considered in Bulgaria.