Dirofilariose canina: relato de caso

Abstract

Heartworm is a cardiopulmonary parasitic zoonosis, caused by the nematode Dirofilaria sp., which has the dog as its definitive host, but can affect mammals of various species such as domestic cats, wolves, foxes and humans. It is more prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas of several countries around the world, mainly coastal areas, and is transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes, Culex and Anophles genera. Nematodes carry out their parasitic cycle in the pulmonary artery and right ventricle, generating clinical signs such as cough, dyspnea, exercise intolerance, weight loss and right heart failure, and the severity of the disease is related to the amount of parasites in the animal. The present work reports the case of a 10-year-old dog with a history of hematuria and fatigue on physical exertion. Ultrasonography, radiography, urinalysis and blood count were performed, where it was possible to identify changes in the prostate, urinary bladder, lungs, heart, normocytic hypochromic anemia, presence of erythrocyte roleaux, lymphocytosis, hyperproteinemia and observation of microfilariae under the microscope, confirming the diagnosis for canine heartworm. The dog was submitted to microfilaricidal treatment with doxycycline associated with ivermectin and supportive treatment for 60 consecutive days, followed by prophylactic treatment, obtaining an improvement in the first weeks. After the initial 30 days, treatment with prednisolone was added to reduce inflammation in the prostate and he underwent castration. With the treatment, the animal showed improvement in the anemia and fatigue and was requested to continue the prophylactic treatment with ivermectin for six months and the annual survey of the disease should be carried out for the rest of the dog's life. In view of the above, the treatment proved to be effective, as there was an improvement in the clinical picture.