LIFETIME DIAGNOSIS OF CARDIAC DIROFILARIOSIS IN DOGS

Abstract

Dirofilariosis is a parasitic vector anthropozoonous chronic disease that is increasingly common among dogs in Ukraine. Diagnosis of dirofilariosis has significant difficulties, especially when dogs are infected with the species Dirofilaria immitis. The purpose of this work was to determine the accuracy and representativeness of the main methods for diagnosing dirofilariosis in dogs. Studies were conducted on 114 dogs spontaneously infested with D. immitis. The data obtained indicate that diagnosis based on primary clinical signs is not possible, since the symptoms are not specific to this pathology. However, disturbances in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of the body can be considered concomitant symptoms of D. immitis. X-ray changes also only further indicate the development of thromboembolic changes in the vascular bed of sick animals (increased bulge of the main segment of the pulmonary artery, expansion of the right ventricle of the heart, increased size and density or tortuosity of the pulmonary arteries). Ultrasound examination of the heart can be considered a specialized, but low-effective method (35 % of positive cases) for diagnosing dirofilariasis. With low and medium-sized lesions, sexually mature helminths are localized in the pulmonary arteries and only with a high intensity of invasion, parasites can penetrate the caudal Vena cava, into the right chambers of the heart. High-precision (82 %) specific hematological methods are "crushed drop" and Knott (1939), as well as imunochromatography (80 %). The latter method of diagnosis is advisable to use for choosing effective therapy, since it gives information about the presence of dirofilariae in the body of adult individuals. Thus, for the final diagnosis of "dirofilariosis" in dogs, it is necessary to use several diagnostic methods. The prospect of further research will be to choose the optimal treatment regimen for dogs affected bypathogens heartworm

Keywords

• dirofilaria immitis
• cardiovascular system.