Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with skin swelling from Dirofilaria repens
By Baneth, Gad et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2002·School of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Dirofilaria repens infection in a dog: diagnosis and treatment with melarsomine and doramectin.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with a Dirofilaria repens infection, which caused skin swelling, lumps under the skin, and itching. To treat the infection, the veterinarian used a combination of two medications: melarsomine, which kills adult worms, and doramectin, which targets the microfilariae (young worms). After treatment, the dog's microfilariae levels dropped significantly, and follow-up tests showed no signs of the infection for 90 days. Unfortunately, the dog had to be euthanized later due to unrelated cancer, but there was no evidence of the Dirofilaria infection at that time.
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Abstract
Therapy of canine dirofilariois due to Dirofilaria repens is indicated for dogs suffering from clinical signs of this disease, such as dermal swelling, sub-cutaneous nodules and pruritus. It is also important in order to decrease the risk of infection to other dogs and humans in the vicinity of the infected animal when suitable mosquito vectors are present. Combined therapy with the arsenic adulticide melarsomine and the avermectin microfilaricidal doramectin was effective in clearing infection with D. repens in a dog. The number of microfilariae dropped from 17 microl(-1) blood pre-treatment to 7 microl(-1) following the first adulticide injection and reached 0 a day after the microfilaricidal administration. The dog remained negative for D. repens microfilaremia during a follow-up period of 90 days. Euthanasia and necropsy performed 3 months after the initiation of therapy due to a progressive neoplastic disease revealed no evidence of filariae.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11900931/