Preliminary report on the prevalence of Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in dogs from Portugal adopting a commercially available test kit for serological analysis

Abstract

Canine angiostrongylosis, caused by the nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum, is an emerging and spreading disease with an increasing number of cases diagnosed in European countries in the last few years; nevertheless, little information is available in Portugal. The prevalence of A. vasorum antigens was assessed with a rapid test (Angio Detect™) in 400 dogs from four geographic areas of mainland Portugal. While an apparent prevalence of 0.0% was found, the true prevalence was estimated to lie between 0.0% and 0.3%, taking into account the non-absolute test sensitivity and specificity. Despite the low prevalence of A. vasorum infection in mainland Portugal, it will be important for veterinary clinicians to be aware of angiostrongylosis in order to consider it in the differential diagnosis of canine diseases (including cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis, caused by the heartworm Dirofilaria immitis).