Emerging risk ofspp. infection in shelter dogs in southern Italy.

Abstract

In southern Italy, the number of autochthonous cases ofin dogs has increased considerably. This also occurs in the Campania region, particularly in coastal areas, where infections withandhave been reported more frequently. Therefore the aim of the present study was to better investigate the occurrence ofspp. in a local dog shelter in Castel Volturno (Campania region, southern Italy). Briefly, a total of 260 blood samples were analysed for identification of microfilariae (mff) and detection ofantigen. Dogs were classified according to their age (1-3  years; 4-6  years; 7-11  years; > 11  years) and length of stay in the shelter at the time of sampling (dogs that entered in the shelter in the last 4  months; dogs housed in the shelter for more than 4 months up to 2  years; dogs housed for more than 2  years). The modified Knott's test revealed that 195 dogs (75.0%) were positive for circulating mff ofspp. Specifically, 104/260 (40.0%) dogs were positive forand 91/260 (35.0%) were positive for. In addition, 72/260 (27.7%) dogs had bothandmff. Antigen testing revealed that 78/260 (30.0%) dogs were positive for. However, 26/104 (25.0%) of the dogs withmff were antigen-negative. The overall k concordance between the modified Knott's test and the antigenic test was ≤0.2 (poor) ( = 0.000). The results of the logistic regression model showed a significant association betweenexposure and the period of time the dogs had spent in the shelter at the time of sampling. Dogs housed in the shelter for 4 months (group 1) and between 4 months and 2 years (group 2) had higherpositivity than dogs in group 3 (housed for more than 2 years) (80.4% vs. 79.6% vs. 62.4%, respectively). Moreover, male dogs and older dogs (between 7 and 11 years of age) were more likely to be infected withspp.