Seroepidemiological Study Of Canine And Human Dirofilariasis In The Endemic Region Of Northern Serbia

Dirofilariasis is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused mainly byDirofilaria immitisandDirofilaria repensthat affect dogs and humans all over the world. Serbia is considered an endemic country to both forms of dirofilariasis, although most of the population is concentrated in the north of the country. The aims of this study were to show the prevalence ofD. immitisandD. repensin dogs and the seroprevalence in humans compared to previous studies in Northern Serbia. In total, 346 dog sera samples and 265 human samples were analyzed. Dog blood samples were analyzed using the modified Knott's method to check whether there wereDirofilariaspp. microfilariae and serum samples were checked by a commercialD. immitisantigen test. Human serum samples were analyzed with a non-commercial ELISA for detection of specific anti-D. immitis, anti-D. repens, and anti-WolbachiaIgG antibodies, and confirmed by western blotting. The overall prevalence forDirofilariaspp. in dogs was 29.19%. The overall prevalence forD. immitiswas 26.30%. The percentages ofD. immitisandD. repensmicrofilaremia in dogs were 25.72 and 1.45%, respectively, whileD. immitis./D. repensmicrofilaremia co-infections were also 1.45%. The overall seroprevalence forDirofilariaspp. in humans was 3.77%. The overall seroprevalence forD. immitiswas 1.51, 1.13% forD. repens, and forD. immitis/D. repensco-infections was 1.13%. The results indicate thatD. immitisandD. repensare present in dogs and humans in the province of Vojvodina, in the northern part of Serbia. It is most likely associated with the presence of many rivers, the climate, and presence of mosquitoes in the area, so there could be a real public health risk.