Effect of Therapy by Using Advocate Spot-On Combination (Imidacloprid 10% and Moxidectin 2.5%) on Subcutaneous Dirofilariosis in Dogs

Radmila Dobešová Paran,Vlasta Svobodová

doi:10.4061/2011/482746

Radmila Dobešová Paran, Vlasta Svobodová

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4061/2011/482746

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Abstract

Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens is a filarioid parasite that causes subcutaneous dirofilariosis in dogs. Adults, while localized in subcutaneous tissues, lay embryos (microfilariae (mf)) into the blood stream of dogs, which constitute a reservoir for infection of other definitive or accidental hosts as humans. This study was carried out to assess the efficacy of spot-on combination of imidacloprid and moxidectin on microfilariaemia in naturally infected dogs. A group of 11 dogs was monthly examined for the presence of microfilariae in peripheral blood by modified Knott's test method. Treatment was administered monthly for 4 months. All dogs (i.e., 100%) became negative for microfilariaemia throughout the study. These results confirm the effect of the combination of imidacloprid and moxidectin on D. (Nochtiella) repens.

Highlights

Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens is a filarioid nematode of genus Dirofilaria that belongs to family Onchocercidae of the order Spirurida
Adults are mainly found in subcutaneous tissues where they may cause different clinical signs, such as dermal swelling, subcutaneous nodules, or pruritus [1]
Development of L3 is a temperate-dependent process, and climatic changes in last years enable the spread of canine subcutaneous dirofilariosis (CSD) from tropic and subtropics regions to temperate zone countries [4] such as Czech Republic [5], Slovakia [6], Hungary [7], and Austria [8]

Summary

Introduction

Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens is a filarioid nematode of genus Dirofilaria that belongs to family Onchocercidae of the order Spirurida. Location of worms in the body can vary; nodules are found in subcutaneous tissue [10], lungs [9, 11] or conjunctival tissue [12]. Their importance in the case of differential diagnosis of human neoplasia is high, and several authors described human dirofilariosis as emerging disease [9, 11]. This implies that the management of CSD has high importance in the prevention of human infections by D. repens. The study describes specific protocol for D. repens infection treatment in dogs by commercial spot-on product (Advocate, Bayer)

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