Human dirofilariasis – A potentially significant nematode zoonosis in an era of climate change

Abstract

Dirofilariasis is a mosquito-borne zoonosis caused by several species of the genus Dirofilaria. This disease can manifest as nodular lesions in subcutaneous tissues, various structures of the eye, the lungs and/or visceral organs. The Dirofilaria species and the vectors responsible for transmitting infection differ among various geographical regions. The most competent reservoirs of infection are domestic and wild canids (for Dirofilaria repens and Dirofilaria immitis), raccoons (for Dirofilaria tenuis) and bears (for Dirofilaria ursi), and humans represent aberrant or accidental hosts. Recently, there has been an increasing number of reported clinical cases of dirofilariasis in both animals..