Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Treating Dirofilaria repens microfilaria in dogs with doxycycline
By Giannelli, Alessio et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2013·Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Italy·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Treatment of Dirofilaria repens microfilariaemia with a combination of doxycycline hyclate and ivermectin.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with skin nodules and lesions caused by a mosquito-borne infection called Dirofilaria repens. The veterinarian treated the dog with a combination of doxycycline and ivermectin over six months. Blood tests were done regularly to monitor the dog's condition. The treatment showed promising results, effectively reducing the microfilariae in the dog's bloodstream and improving the skin issues.
People also search for: dog skin nodules treatment · Dirofilaria repens in dogs · doxycycline and ivermectin for dog infection
Abstract
Dirofilaria repens is one of the most widespread mosquito-borne filarioid responsible for infestations in dogs, usually characterized by nodules and other skin lesions. Additionally, the zoonotic potential of this nematode is of public health concern, given that D. repens has been often associated to human dirofilariosis in the Old World. In the present study, the therapeutic efficacy against D. repens microfilariae of a protocol based on doxycycline hyclate (Ronaxan(®), Merial), 10mg/kg every day for 30 days, and ivermectin (Cardotek 30(®), Merial), 6 μg/kg every 15 days for 6 months, was preliminarily investigated in two naturally infested dogs. Blood samples were collected every 30 days during 6 months of treatment and examined by a Knott's modified test and a duplex real-time PCR. The results here presented indicate that this therapeutic protocol, applied monthly, could be effective for treating microfilariaemia in dogs affected by subcutaneous dirofilariosis.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23768566/