Dirofilaria striata (Molin, 1858) Railliet & Henry, 1911
Dirofilariastriata was first described from pumas in Brazil by Molin (1858) and redescribed by Anderson and Diaz-Ungria (1959) from ocelots and margay cats from Venezuela. These are very large worms that live in the subcutaneous tissue and fascia. The females may reach 28 to 36 cm in length, and the males are 8 to 10 cm long. Dirofilariastriata has also been found in Florida panthers (Forrester et al., 1985; Lamm et al., 1997). Orihel and Ash (1964) recovered this worm from bobcats in Lousiana and showed that larvae would develop to the infective stage in mosquitoes (Anophelesquadrimaculatus). When these mosquitoes were allowed to feed on kittens, examination of one kitten 90 days after infection revealed only nodules containing degerating larvae at the sites of inoculation and deeper tissues of the trunk and legs. Two other kittens remained negative for microfilariae over the next 11 months after inoculation.
There have been several cases of human infection with Dirofilariastriata in the United States (Orihel and Eberhard, 1998; Orihel and Iusbey, 1990). Typically, the worms have been recovered from subcutaneous nodules. Interestingly, a microfilaria similar to that of Dirofilariastriata has been recovered from greyhounds in Florida (Courtney et al., 1985); although there has been no record of the finding of microfilariae in cats from that area.
Chitwood (1933) reported on the recovery of Dirofilariaacutiuscula from a canadian lynx. These worms were originally reported from wild hogs in Brazil. Again, these forms have not been reported from domestic cats.
REFERENCES:
Anderson RC, Diaz-Ungria. 1959. Bol Venez Lab Clin 4:3-15.
Chitwood BG. 1933. Note on a genus and species of nematode from Lynxcanadensis. J Parasitol 20:63.
Courtney CH, Sundlof SF, Lane TJ. 1985. Impact of filariasis on the racing greyhound. JAAHA 21:421-425.
Forrester DJ, Conti JA, Belden RC. 1985. Parasites of the Florida panther (Felisconcolorcoryi). Proc Helm Soc Wash 52:95-97.
Lamm MG, Roelke ME, Greiner EC, Streible CK. 1997. Microfilariae in the free-ranging Florida panther (Felisconcolorcoryi). J Helm Soc Wash 64:137-141.
Orihel TC, Ash LR. 1964. Occurrence of Dirofilariastriata in the bobcat (Lynx rufus) in Louisiansa with observations on its larval development. J Parasitol 50:590-591.
Orihel TC, Isbey EK. 1990. Dirofilariastriata infection in a North Carolina child. Am J Trop Med Hyg 42:124-126.
Redington BC, Jackson RF, Seymour WG, Otto GF. The various microfilariae foun in dogs in the United States. Proc Heartworm Symp ‘77:14-21.