BACKGROUND

• A HAND WRITTEN BOOK OF 1931 DESCRIBES DIROFILARIA IMMITIS AS FOLLOWS: "IT LIVES IN THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DOG'S HEART, BUT LARVAE ARE TRANSPORTED BY BLOOD TO THE SUBCUTANEOUS CONNECTIVE, WHERE THEY LOCALIZE AND DEVELOP NODULES".
• SYMPTOMS OF HEARTWORM DISEASE ARE COUGH, DYSPNOEA, WEAKNESS AFTER EXERCISE, DEFECTS OF CARDIAC VALVES, SOMETIMES SYNCOPES AND OTHERS.

HWD EVOLUTION

• DOGS INFECTED BY HWD CAN BE ASYMPTOMATIC FOR TWO OR THREE YEARS.
• IN THE AREA WHERE I WORK (IN THE NORTH OF ITALY) THE DISEASE IS MORE DIAGNOSED AND LESS DIFFUSED THANKS TO THE UTILIZATION OF ANTIGENIC TESTS FOR THE FILARIASIS RESEARCH AND TO CHEMIOPROFILAXIS.
• THE OCCULT FILARIASIS IS MORE AND MORE DIFFUSED.

PRACTICAL TEST

• SUBJECTS: 1,101 ADULT DOGS
• SUBJECTS' ORIGIN AREA: THE PO PLAIN INSIDE THE PERIMETER OF PADOVA - VERONA - MANTOVA AND ROVIGO (AN IDEAL PLACE WHERE THE VECTOR MOSQUITO CAN SPREAD OVER)
• TIME PERIOD: 2005 TO 2006
• TESTER: SNAP / IDEXX
• SYMPTOMS OF SUBJECTS: NONE
• RESULTS OF TEST: 56 DOGS POSITIVE TO (OCCULT) HWD

CONCLUSION

• CLASSIFICATION OF HWD THAT PRESENTS MICROFILARIASIS IN THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD OR NOT (OCCULT TYPE) IS SCHEMATIC.
• AS A PRACTICAL VETERINARY, I WOULD RECOMMEND TO EXTENSIVELY AND METHODICALLY SUBJECT ADULT DOGS TO A VENTRAL-DORSAL PROJECTION RADIOGRAPHY IN ORDER TO PUT IN EVIDENCE THE RIGHT CAUDAL LOBAR PULMONARY ARTERY, POTENTIALLY AFFECTED BY HWD.
• A DIAMETER OF THE RIGHT CAUDAL LOBAR PULMONARY ARTERY LARGER THAN THE RIB THICKNESS IN THEIR INTERSECTION-POINT, IS ALWAYS PRESENT IN FILARIASIS TYPE III TO IV.

THE FUTURE

JUST A QUESTION LOOKING AT THE FUTURE:
COULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO LOCALIZE THE ADULT PARASITES BY THE UTILIZATION OF A PHARMACOLOGIC SUBSTANCE ENTERING THE ADULT PARASITE METABOLISM AND SHOWING BY RADIOGRAPHIC CONTRAST MACROFILARIASIS IN LIFE?

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