Abstract
Simple SummaryCanine angiostrongylosis is a vascular and pulmonary disease caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum. In Europe, there has been an increasing number of studies showing a rise in the studies in both domestic and wild canids. In Spain, angiostrongylosis is still little-known, and studies are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of A. vasorum in 1475 domestic dogs from the autonomous region of Castilla y León (Spain). Antigens of this species were found in 0.75% of the tested dogs, most of which lived outdoors, a significant risk factor. The geographic information system (GIS) analysis showed that the infected animals mainly lived in areas with mild temperatures and climate during most of the year and close to water bodies: stagnant water; riverbanks or irrigated areas with a predominance of alder, holm oak and gall oak forests. One main conclusion was the need to carry out more studies in countries and areas with the presence of this parasite in order to know the prevalence in dogs and wild canids, as well as determine the environmental factors that influence its presence, to be able to take more effective measures to control this disease.Angiostrongylus vasorum is the causative agent of canine angiostrongylosis, a disease affecting domestic and wild canids. In Europe, it is an emerging disease, mainly reported in red foxes. In Spain, there are a few studies that address the prevalence and pathology of this disease. Castilla y León is the largest region of the Iberian Peninsula, whose extensive area is 94,224 km2; however, until now, there have been no epidemiological studies on this disease. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the presence of antigens of A. vasorum in 1475 dogs from Castilla y León, showing an overall prevalence of 0.75%. The infected dogs were mainly outdoors, guard and hunting breed dogs and living in locations with mild climates close to areas of high edaphic humidity, such as stagnant water, irrigated crops or riverbanks, with the vegetation dominated by alders, holm oak and gall oak forests, where the intermediate hosts develop. It is necessary to carry out more in-depth studies on the epidemiology and pathology of this disease in Spain and Europe in order to carry out efficient control in both domestic and wild animals.
Highlights
Angiostrongylosis is a disease caused by the metastrongyloid nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum (Baillet, 1866) (Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae), which affects domestic dogs and other wild carnivores—mainly foxes, it has been described in wolves, jackals and badgers [1,2,3,4]
Angiostrongylosis is an emerging disease in many European countries. In those regions where infections have been reported in wild animals, its presence has been demonstrated in domestic dogs as well [6,17], and, in recent years, many studies have been carried out regarding the presence of A. vasorum in domestic dogs in Europe [5,6,30,31,32,33,34]
The results have varied widely in different studies; one of the reasons could be the diversity in the diagnostic methods used, which varied from the detection of post-mortem adult worms in the pulmonary artery and right ventricle, serological tests focused on the detection of circulating antigens or antibodies, to the detection of A. vasorum larvae by the Baermann technique, mainly because sensitivity and specificity vary between the different techniques used [6,12,19,35,36,37,38,39]
Summary
Angiostrongylosis is a disease caused by the metastrongyloid nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum (Baillet, 1866) (Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae), which affects domestic dogs and other wild carnivores—mainly foxes, it has been described in wolves, jackals and badgers [1,2,3,4]. Adult parasites (13–21 mm) live in the host’s pulmonary arteries and right heart chambers, where they produce eggs bound to the respiratory tract that subsequently hatch into L1 larvae. These larvae penetrate the pulmonary alveoli and later migrate to the oropharynx, where they are swallowed, entering the digestive system, and are eliminated through feces within two months of infection. These L1 larvae infect gastropod mollusks (snails, slugs and frogs), which act as intermediate hosts and develop the infective L3 stage within 10–16 days. The prepatent period lasts between 38 and 57 days [2,5,6]
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