Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fatal heartworm disease in a dog from non-endemic Slovakia region
By M. Miterpáková et al.·Published in Helminthologia·2019·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: The Fatal Case of an Autochthonous Heartworm Disease in a Dog from a Non-endemic Region of South-eastern Slovakia
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two seven-year-old Tibetan Mastiff siblings from Slovakia were diagnosed with heartworm disease, a serious condition caused by parasites. While the female dog showed no symptoms, her brother became very ill and unfortunately passed away due to severe heartworm infection. An autopsy revealed adult heartworms in his heart and lungs, confirming the diagnosis. This case highlights the increasing risk of heartworm disease in areas where it was previously uncommon, so it's important for pet owners to be aware of this threat and discuss prevention with their veterinarians.
People also search for: heartworm disease in dogs · Tibetan Mastiff heart problems · dog heartworm symptoms · heartworm prevention for dogs
Abstract
Summary During the past few years, several localities with increasing Dirofilaria immitis occurrences have been identified in Slovakia; particularly in areas regarded as endemic for Dirofilaria repens up until now. In terms of that, dogs with clinically manifested heartworm disease have been referred to the veterinary ambulances more frequently. We report in this study, two autochthonous cases of D. immitisinfections diagnosed in two seven-year-old siblings of Tibetan Mastiff dogs from the Košice region of south-eastern Slovakia. The course of the disease in both dogs were very different. The female dog did not manifest any unusual findings, however the male dog exhibited severe clinical signs of heartworm disease that lead to his death. The subsequent autopsy revealed adult D. immitis worms in the right heart ventricle and pulmonary arteries.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/32518491