Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection in a leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) housed in a zoological park in north-eastern Italy.

ABSTRACT: Canine heartworm (cHW) disease is now recognised as potential cause of serious disease in cats and other felids, especially in endemic areas. In March 2009, a 23-years-old male African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) housed in a zoological park located in the Province of Padova (Veneto Region), a cHW endemic area of the north-eastern Italy, died and was immediately necropsied. A cloth completely occluding the pyloric lumen was considered the presumptive cause of death. During necropsy, six nematodes (4 males and 2 females) were found within the right ventricle of the heart and the pulmonary artery. Diagnosis of HW (Dirofilaria immitis) infection was carried out by morphological features of adult worms and microfilariae, and then confirmed by detection of circulating HW antigens using a co

SUBMITTER: Mazzariol S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2858128 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature