Dirofilaria striata

Dirofilaria striata

<p align="CENTER"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Dirofilaria striata</b></i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b> (Molin, 1858) Railliet &amp; Henry, 1911</b></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dirofilaria</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>striata</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> 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. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dirofilaria</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>striata</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> 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 (</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Anopheles</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>quadrimaculatus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">). 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.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">There have been several cases of human infection with </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dirofilaria</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>striata</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> 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 </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dirofilaria</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>striata</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> 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.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chitwood (1933) reported on the recovery of </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dirofilaria</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>acutiuscula</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> from a canadian lynx. These worms were originally reported from wild hogs in Brazil. Again, these forms have not been reported from domestic cats.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>REFERENCES:</b></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Anderson RC, Diaz-Ungria. 1959. Bol Venez Lab Clin 4:3-15.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chitwood BG. 1933. Note on a genus and species of nematode from </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Lynx</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>canadensis</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. J Parasitol 20:63.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Courtney CH, Sundlof SF, Lane TJ. 1985. Impact of filariasis on the racing greyhound. JAAHA 21:421-425.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Forrester DJ, Conti JA, Belden RC. 1985. Parasites of the Florida panther (</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felis</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>concolor</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>coryi</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">). Proc Helm Soc Wash 52:95-97.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lamm MG, Roelke ME, Greiner EC, Streible CK. 1997. Microfilariae in the free-ranging Florida panther (</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felis</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>concolor</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>coryi</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">). J Helm Soc Wash 64:137-141.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Orihel TC, Ash LR. 1964. Occurrence of </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dirofilaria</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>striata</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> in the bobcat (Lynx rufus) in Louisiansa with observations on its larval development. J Parasitol 50:590-591.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Orihel TC, Isbey EK. 1990. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dirofilaria</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>striata</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> infection in a North Carolina child. Am J Trop Med Hyg 42:124-126.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Redington BC, Jackson RF, Seymour WG, Otto GF. The various microfilariae foun in dogs in the United States. Proc Heartworm Symp ‘77:14-21.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p>