Humans are not natural hosts of Dirofilaria; however, pulmonary or subcutaneous infections may occur through mosquitoes transmission. Patients presenting with simple subcutaneous nodules may not seek early medical attention, and hence systemic involvement through hematogenous spread may occur. Definitive diagnosis of Dirofilaria infection is made by histopathological examinations of the infecte...

Dirofilariosis is a parasitic disease caused by helminths of the genus Dirofilaria. Climatic changes are considered to be main risk factors for dirofilariosis spreading. In the Slovak Republic, canine subcutaneous dirofilariosis was recorded for the first time in 2005. In 2007 the first coordinated research project started to detect possible endemic infections and to determine their magnitude. ...

Zoonoses are infectious diseases of animals that can be transmitted to humans. Human dirofilariosis (caused by Dirofilaria repens and Dirofilaria immitis) are among the helminthic zoonoses most frequently diagnosed in Europe. Indeed, human infections with Dirofilaria parasites are diagnosed with increasing frequency in many European countries and are currently included in the socalled emerging ...