ArticleParasites & vectors2020
Dirofilaria immitis in wolves recolonizing northern Italy: are wolves competent hosts?
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vectors, host range, and spatial distribution of Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens in Europe: a systematic review.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2025Pooled it
- Improved specificity of a probe-based real-time PCR for the detection of Dirofilaria immitis in canine blood.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Article
- Population genomics reveals an ancient origin of heartworms in canids.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Ectoparasite- and Vector-Borne-Related Dermatoses: A Single-Centre Study with Practical Diagnostic and Management Insights in a One Health Perspective.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Circulation ofLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Detection of Dirofilaria immitis in golden jackals (Canis aureus L.) but not in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) and European badgers (Meles meles L.) in Croatia.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Beyond Borders:Veterinary sciences · 2024Article
- Heartworm disease in domestic dogs in Estonia: indication of local circulation of the zoonotic parasite Dirofilaria immitis farther north than previously reported.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Is the European badger a new host for Dirofilaria immitis? The first records in Greece.Parasitology research · 2024Article
- Occurrence of Dirofilaria repens in wild carnivores in Poland.Parasitology research · 2023Article
- Wolf Is Back: A Novel Sensitive Sentinel Rejoins theVeterinary sciences · 2023Article
- A case of natural infection withHelminthologia · 2023Article
- Subcutaneous Ticks in Wild Carnivores: Any Host-Related Differences?Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- What Has Happened to Heartworm Disease in Europe in the Last 10 Years?Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Unintentional Recovery of Parasitic Diversity Following Restoration of Red Deer (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Wolf Dispersal Patterns in the Italian Alps and Implications for Wildlife Diseases Spreading.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Article
- Dirofilaria immitis antigenemia and microfilaremia in Iberian wolves and red foxes from Portugal.Parasites & vectors · 2022Article
- Wild carnivores and Thelazia callipaeda zoonotic eyeworms: A focus on wolves.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2022Article
- Occurrence and Molecular Identification of Hemoparasites in Wild Mammals Kept in Rehabilitation Centers in Brazil.Acta parasitologica · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWild carnivores such as the grey wolf (Canis lupus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and golden jackal (Canis aureus) are recognized hosts of Dirofilaria immitis. However, few studies have focused on their actual role in the epidemiology of heartworm infection. This study describes the prevalence and distribution of D. immitis in wolves in a heartworm-endemic area in northern Italy where wolves have recently returned after long-time eradication, and investigates the fertility status of the collected adult nematodes.
methodsIn the frame of a long-term wolf monitoring programme in northwestern Italy, 210 wolf carcasses from four provinces were inspected for the presence of filarioid nematodes in the right heart and pulmonary arteries. Female heartworms were measured, and their uterine content analyzed according to a previously described "embryogram" technique.
resultsThree wolves, all originating from a single province (Alessandria), were positive for D. immitis (1.42%, 95% CI: 0.48-4.11%, in the whole study area; 13.6%, 95% CI: 4.7-33.3%, limited to the single province from which infected wolves originated). Mean intensity was 5 worms (range: 3-7) and the female worms measured 21-28 cm in length. Six out of 9 female worms harbored uterine microfilariae: 5 were classified as gravid; 1 showed a "discontinuous gradient"; and 3 were non-gravid.
conclusionsThe present data show that heartworm infection is already prevalent in wolves that have recolonized the known heartworm-endemic area. Based on "embryogram" results, wolves were shown suitable heartworm hosts. Interestingly, investigated wolves appeared similarly exposed to heartworm infection as sympatric unprotected dogs (owned dogs that have never received any heartworm prevention treatment) sampled at the beginning of the wolf return process.
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