Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection in a leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) housed in a zoological park in north-eastern Italy

Sandro Mazzariol,Laura Voltan,Luca Aresu,Antonio Frangipane di Regalbono,Rudi Cassini

doi:10.1186/1756-3305-3-25

Abstract

Canine heartworm (cHW) disease is now recognised as potential cause of serious disease in cats and other felids, especially in endemic areas. In March 2009, a 23-years-old male African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) housed in a zoological park located in the Province of Padova (Veneto Region), a cHW endemic area of the north-eastern Italy, died and was immediately necropsied. A cloth completely occluding the pyloric lumen was considered the presumptive cause of death. During necropsy, six nematodes (4 males and 2 females) were found within the right ventricle of the heart and the pulmonary artery. Diagnosis of HW (Dirofilaria immitis) infection was carried out by morphological features of adult worms and microfilariae, and then confirmed by detection of circulating HW antigens using a commercial SNAP kit (IDEXX Laboratories inc., USA). D. immitis infection was also confirmed by PCR amplification of the 5S ribosomal spacer region, performed on worm fragments and microfilaraemic blood samples obtained from the right ventricle of the heart. A glomerulonephritis of immuno-mediated origin and most likely associated with the HW infection is also reported. HW chemoprophylaxis and annual serological testing on wild felids housed outdoors in endemic cHW disease areas are recommended. This is the first diagnosis of D. immitis infection in an exotic felid in Italy.

Highlights

Canine heartworm disease is recognised as potential cause of serious disease in cats and other felids, especially in endemic areas
In Italy, besides the hyperendemic areas along the Po River Valley, Canine heartworm (cHW) infection concern the northern and central regions [2], while new autochthonous foci have recently been reported in southern Italy [3]
Dogs are the natural hosts, cHW disease is recognised as potential cause of serious disease in felids, especially in endemic areas

Summary

Introduction

Canine heartworm (cHW) disease is recognised as potential cause of serious disease in cats and other felids, especially in endemic areas. * Correspondence: antonio.frangipane@unipd.it 2Dipartimento di Scienze Sperimentali Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Padova; Viale dell’Università, 16 - 35020, Legnaro (Padova), Italy non-domestic cat species, cHW disease is usually characterised by a low burden, while microfilaraemia is often absent otherwise transitory and with low intensity [4,5,6].

Results

Conclusion