First report of canine ocular thelaziosis in the Republic of Moldova

Mirabela Oana Dumitrache,Gianluca D’Amico,Nicolai Chavdar,Eugeniu Voinițchi,Angela Monica Ionică

doi:10.1186/s13071-019-3758-3

Abstract

BackgroundCountries of eastern Europe are considered, due to several risk factors, more vulnerable to infections with newly (re)emerging pathogens. During the last decade, in several European countries, reports of autochthonous cases of ocular thelaziosis due to Thelazia callipaeda have been published, posing a great concern from both veterinary and public health perspective. However, in the Republic of Moldova only limited epidemiological data are available regarding zoonotic vector-borne pathogens and, until now, no data exist on the zoonotic nematode T. callipaeda.MethodsIn September 2018, an 11-year-old dog, mixed-breed, intact male was referred to a private veterinary clinic from Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, with a history of 2 weeks of an ocular condition affecting the right eye. The ophthalmological exam revealed the presence of nematode parasites in the conjunctival sac and under the third eyelid. The collected parasites were identified by morphological techniques and molecular analysis.ResultsA total of 7 nematodes were collected, and 5 females and 2 males of T. callipaeda were identified morphologically. The BLAST analysis confirmed the low genetic variability of this parasite in Europe. The travel history of the patient allowed us to confirm the autochthonous character of the case.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of thelaziosis in dogs from the Republic of Moldova, which confirms the spreading trend of T. callipaeda and the existence of an autochthonous transmission cycle of this zoonotic parasite in the country.

Highlights

Countries of eastern Europe are considered, due to several risk factors, more vulnerable to infections with newlyemerging pathogens
This study presents the first autochthonous case of ocular thelaziosis in a dog in the Republic of Moldova and identifies the haplotype circulating in this country, extending the knowledge on the epidemiology of T. callipaeda in Europe
The sex was assigned based on several characteristics; T. callipaeda males were characterised by a curved posterior extremity, with pre- and post-cloacal papillae and two unequal spicules (Fig. 1b); females of T. callipaeda presented the vulvar opening situated anterior to the oesophago-intestinal junction, and the proximal end of the uterus contained L1 larvae (Fig. 1c)

Summary

Introduction

Countries of eastern Europe are considered, due to several risk factors, more vulnerable to infections with newly (re)emerging pathogens. In Europe and Asia, the sole aetiological agent, Thelazia callipaeda, is a parasite localised in the conjunctival sacs, naso-lacrimal ducts, under the eyelids and the nictitating membrane in different species of mammals, Dumitrache et al Parasites Vectors (2019) 12:505 predominantly in domestic and wild carnivores, and in humans [3, 4] This nematode is responsible for ocular symptoms of variable severity: epiphora, local pruritus and congestion, photophobia, mild to severe conjunctivitis and keratitis, which can evolve to cornea opacification and even ulceration in the absence of diagnosis and therapy [4, 5]

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