Abstract
Human dirofilariasis is a vector-borne helminth disease caused by two species of Dirofilaria: D. repens and D. immitis. The vectors of the helminth are mosquitoes in the family Culicidae. The definitive hosts of Dirofilaria are dogs and, to a lesser extent, cats. Humans are accidental hosts. Dirofilariasis has been reported in the territory of Russia since 1915. Sporadic cases of the disease have been reported occasionally, but the number of cases showed a distinct increasing trend in the late 1980s–early 1990s, when the number of cases reached several hundred in the southern territories of Russia, with geographic coordinates of 43° N–45° N. A comparison of the timing of the global trend of climate warming during the 1990s with the temporal pattern of the incidence of dirofilariasis in the territory of Russia indicated a close association between the two phenomena. At present, the northern range of Dirofilaria includes latitudes higher than 58° in both the European and Asian parts of the country. The phenomenon of climate warming in the territory of Russia has shaped the contemporary epidemiology of the disease. The emerging public health problem of dirofilariasis in Russia warrants the establishment of a comprehensive epidemiological monitoring system.
Highlights
Observations over the last 40–50 years on the dynamics of climate warming in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere have revealed diversity with respect to different territories
Climate warming has strongly shaped the contemporary epidemiology of dirofilariasis in the territory of the Russia
The dynamics of repens infection in humans initthe that the monitoring of the dirofilariasis spread in Asian Russia may not be as good as is territory of the Russia are presented in in European Russia
Summary
Observations over the last 40–50 years on the dynamics of climate warming in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere have revealed diversity with respect to different territories. Similar to any vector-borne disease, ambient temperature is the most important factor for the development of Dirofilaria into the infective larval stage (L3) in the mosquito This can be achieved at the minimum threshold of 14 ◦ C, and a sum of effective temperatures of 130 ◦ C/day (a “sum of effective temperatures” (SET) or “growing degree day” (adopted in several models in the West) is needed for Dirofilaria larvae to reach infectivity; the concept of SET was originally developed and successfully applied in Russia in the control of malaria) [15]. The maximal life expectancy of an infected mosquito is 30 days
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