Prevalence and risk factors of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from Mexico, including serum pre-heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexes

Dirofilaria immitis is a nematode found worldwide and capable of infecting several animal species, including dogs. In Mexico, D. immitis infection in dogs has been detected in 22 of the 32 states, with a wide range of prevalence. Blood samples of 535 dogs from four ecological zones and 11 localities...

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Main Authors: Samantha Hay-Parker, Roger I. Rodriguez-Vivas, Emilia Tobias, Frederic Beugnet, Nancy Montes, Erick García, Diego Bazaldua
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Current Research in Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667114X25000494
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author Samantha Hay-Parker
Roger I. Rodriguez-Vivas
Emilia Tobias
Frederic Beugnet
Nancy Montes
Erick García
Diego Bazaldua
author_facet Samantha Hay-Parker
Roger I. Rodriguez-Vivas
Emilia Tobias
Frederic Beugnet
Nancy Montes
Erick García
Diego Bazaldua
author_sort Samantha Hay-Parker
collection DOAJ
description Dirofilaria immitis is a nematode found worldwide and capable of infecting several animal species, including dogs. In Mexico, D. immitis infection in dogs has been detected in 22 of the 32 states, with a wide range of prevalence. Blood samples of 535 dogs from four ecological zones and 11 localities in Mexico were processed with ELISA (IDEXX SNAP 4Dx® Plus) with non-treated blood samples (NTB) and pre-heat-treated sera for immune complex dissociation (pre-ICD). Thick drop tests were also performed. The prevalence of D. immitis in each locality was estimated. The positive results were analyzed using χ2-test to identify the associated factors, and the variables with P < 0.2 were analyzed using a logistic regression. The overall prevalence found using the ELISA test with NTB was 15.5%, while it was significantly higher (22.6%) using the same test with pre-ICD. With the thick drop test, a lower prevalence (7.2%) was observed. The detection of positive cases of D. immitis infection was significantly different (P < 0.05) between the three tests. Of the studied dogs, 15.5% (83/535) were positive to both ELISA using NTB and pre-ICD; however, 7.1% (38/535) were only positive after pre-ICD. The higher prevalence was found in Ciudad del Carmen (48.3%), Tampico (48.3%), and Puerto Morelos (64.0%). The risk factors associated with D. immitis infection were the ecological zone (warm subhumid with summer rains: Aw1, OR 2.8, P = 0.003 and Aw0, OR 20.4, P = 0.003); and age of the animals (dogs ≥ 6 years, OR 2.8, P < 0.001). In Mexico, dogs from four ecological zones were found highly infected with D. immitis, the associated risk factors were the ecological zone and age of the animals. Pre-ICD revealed that 7.1% of ELISA antigen-tested samples were false negatives with NTB.
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spelling doaj-art-b712e5341eae40fbb3c7078a448b8ee82025-08-20T02:36:02ZengElsevierCurrent Research in Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases2667-114X2025-01-01810028910.1016/j.crpvbd.2025.100289Prevalence and risk factors of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from Mexico, including serum pre-heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexesSamantha Hay-Parker0Roger I. Rodriguez-Vivas1Emilia Tobias2Frederic Beugnet3Nancy Montes4Erick García5Diego Bazaldua6Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Mexico, Zona Industrial, Guadalajara, Jalisco, MexicoUniversidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias. Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico; Corresponding author.Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Mexico, Zona Industrial, Guadalajara, Jalisco, MexicoBoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Lyon, FranceBoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Mexico, Zona Industrial, Guadalajara, Jalisco, MexicoBoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Mexico, Zona Industrial, Guadalajara, Jalisco, MexicoUniversidad del Valle de México. Carrera de Químico Farmacéutico Biotecnólogo. Zapopan, Jalisco, MexicoDirofilaria immitis is a nematode found worldwide and capable of infecting several animal species, including dogs. In Mexico, D. immitis infection in dogs has been detected in 22 of the 32 states, with a wide range of prevalence. Blood samples of 535 dogs from four ecological zones and 11 localities in Mexico were processed with ELISA (IDEXX SNAP 4Dx® Plus) with non-treated blood samples (NTB) and pre-heat-treated sera for immune complex dissociation (pre-ICD). Thick drop tests were also performed. The prevalence of D. immitis in each locality was estimated. The positive results were analyzed using χ2-test to identify the associated factors, and the variables with P < 0.2 were analyzed using a logistic regression. The overall prevalence found using the ELISA test with NTB was 15.5%, while it was significantly higher (22.6%) using the same test with pre-ICD. With the thick drop test, a lower prevalence (7.2%) was observed. The detection of positive cases of D. immitis infection was significantly different (P < 0.05) between the three tests. Of the studied dogs, 15.5% (83/535) were positive to both ELISA using NTB and pre-ICD; however, 7.1% (38/535) were only positive after pre-ICD. The higher prevalence was found in Ciudad del Carmen (48.3%), Tampico (48.3%), and Puerto Morelos (64.0%). The risk factors associated with D. immitis infection were the ecological zone (warm subhumid with summer rains: Aw1, OR 2.8, P = 0.003 and Aw0, OR 20.4, P = 0.003); and age of the animals (dogs ≥ 6 years, OR 2.8, P < 0.001). In Mexico, dogs from four ecological zones were found highly infected with D. immitis, the associated risk factors were the ecological zone and age of the animals. Pre-ICD revealed that 7.1% of ELISA antigen-tested samples were false negatives with NTB.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667114X25000494Dirofilaria immitisDogsHeartworm diseasePrevalenceRisk factors
spellingShingle Samantha Hay-Parker
Roger I. Rodriguez-Vivas
Emilia Tobias
Frederic Beugnet
Nancy Montes
Erick García
Diego Bazaldua
Prevalence and risk factors of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from Mexico, including serum pre-heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexes
Current Research in Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases
Dirofilaria immitis
Dogs
Heartworm disease
Prevalence
Risk factors
title Prevalence and risk factors of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from Mexico, including serum pre-heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexes
title_full Prevalence and risk factors of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from Mexico, including serum pre-heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexes
title_fullStr Prevalence and risk factors of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from Mexico, including serum pre-heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexes
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence and risk factors of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from Mexico, including serum pre-heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexes
title_short Prevalence and risk factors of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from Mexico, including serum pre-heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexes
title_sort prevalence and risk factors of dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs from mexico including serum pre heat treatment for the dissociation of immune complexes
topic Dirofilaria immitis
Dogs
Heartworm disease
Prevalence
Risk factors
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667114X25000494
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