Abstract
In March 2014, an infection with the nematode Dirofilaria repens was diagnosed in a German citizen in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. The patient had developed an itching subcutaneous nodule containing a female worm, which was identified as D. repens by 12S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene sequencing. Autochthonous human D. repens infections have not been described in Germany so far, but this finding is consistent with the recent detection of D. repens in mosquitoes from east Germany.
Highlights
D. repens is a filarial nematode of dogs and other carnivores as definitive hosts
Similar to other filarial species, microfilariae of D. repens are transmitted by mosquitoes, and fertile macrofilariae develop in the natural definitive host
The recent finding of D. repens-infected dogs and mosquitoes in east Germany in the federal state of Autochthonous human case Infected dogs Mosquitoes testing positive for D. repens DNA Numbers within the circles refer to references. 1: Czajka et al 2014 [11]; 2: Kronfeld et al 2014 [13]; 3: Tannich, unpublished observation; 4: Hermosilla et al 2006 [14]; 5: Panchev et al 2009 [15]; 6: Sassnau et al 2013 [12]
Summary
Citation style for this article: Tappe D, Plauth M, Bauer T, Muntau B, Dießel L, Tannich E, Herrmann-Trost P. A case of autochthonous human Dirofilaria infection, Germany, March 2014. In March 2014, an infection with the nematode Dirofilaria repens was diagnosed in a German citizen in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. The patient had developed an itching subcutaneous nodule containing a female worm, which was identified as D. repens by 12S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene sequencing. Autochthonous human D. repens infections have not been described in Germany so far, but this finding is consistent with the recent detection of D. repens in mosquitoes from east Germany. We report the clinical and laboratory findings of the first autochthonous Dirofilaria infection acquired in Germany, diagnosed in early 2014
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