Consensus statement on the epidemiological situation and expected frequency of canine vector-borne diseases in Serbia

The current issue of Veterinarski Glasnik (Vol 74, No 2) is dedicated to canine vectorborne pathogens (VBP) and vector-borne diseases (VBD) in Serbia. All published reviews and original papers indicate the amount of research done in Serbia and the amount of collected and analysed data is high for the majority of topics, inviting us to summarise all the findings in a consensus statement that we hope will be of importance for practitioners who are in constant contact with dogs in Serbia and for researchers who should continue to develop this field of investigation

Subconjunctival Infection due to Dirofilaria Repens - Case Report

Summary The aim of the survey was to present the clinical course and surgical treatment of the first case of human ocular dirofilariosis on the territory of the city of Niš, in the southeast Serbia. Male patient, 57 years old, visited an ophthalmologist because of extreme swelling and redness of the eyelids of the right eye, scratches and pain in his right eye. On standard examination on biomicroscope, temporally 3 mm from the limbus, intrapalpebrally, a mobile parasite was observed in the subconjunctival space. Complete extraction of the living parasites, 13 cm long, was performed. A sample of the nematode based on morphological and morphometric characteristics was identified as Dirofilaria repens-like. The diagnosis was confirmed with molecular methods. For ocular dirofilariosis, surgical methods and complete extraction of the parasite are the only ways to achieve complete recovery

Seroprevalence of dirofilarioses in Serbia

In 2009 canine and human dirofilarioses were investigated in Serbia by means of home-made immunoassays to detect antibodies to D. repens and D. immitis somatic/metabolic polyproteins and, in dogs, to the recombinant Wolbachia surface protein (rWSP) (Marcos-Axutegi et al., 2005, Proc EMOP IX, 2: 297-302). A total of 122 dogs (56 males and 66 females; mean age = 4.15 years) were checked, coming from two northern areas of Serbia (Pančevo and Veliko Gradište). Considering their shelter, nutrition, care, training, working, health protection, sanitary controls, 38 of them were dogs bred in partially controlled life conditions and the remaining 84 subjects lived in uncontrolled life conditions. Human sera were taken from 298 people (109 males, 189 females) living in different areas of Serbia (Pančevo, Novi Sad, Zaječar, Leskovac, Vranje, Niš, Pirot). Antibodies to D. immitis were detected in 28 dogs, indicating an overall heartworm disease seroprevalence of 22.9%, whereas IgG antibodies to D.repens and to rWSP were evidenced in 42.6% and 5.7% of the subjects, respectively. As for the two different areas, antibodies to Dirofilaria were detected in 72.9% of dogs living in Pančevo, therefore more than living in Veliko Gradište (57.1%). No risk factors were evidenced, confirming data on the uselessness of prophylactic drugs at least against D. repens, and suggesting the presence, in these areas, of by day, sunrise or sunset biting mosquitoes as important vectors. As previously evidenced, the low antibody production to rWSP depends on the parasitic burden and on the larval/adult stage of the worms and to the cytokine synthesis patterns activated by this endosymbiont which is different from that activated by D. repens and D. immitis (Simon et al., 2009, Trends in Parasitology, 25 (9): 404-409). As for humans, 46 people (14 men and 32 women) had antibodies to dirofilarial nematodes, accounting for an overall seroprevalence of 15.4%. Particularly, antibodies to D. repens were found in 29 (9.7%) subjects, and that to D. immitis in 24 (8.1%) individuals; seven of them had specific antibodies to both species. No differences were evidenced by people sex (p=0.347), by dirofilarial species (p=0.551) and by area (p=0.056). However the highest seroprevalence were found in Pančevo (27,1%), one of area where we proved very high seroprevalence (72.9%) in dogs. In Serbia diriofilarioses represent an emerging disease of interest for both human and veterinary health. Infections are mainly due to D. repens, even if an active transmission level of both species has been evidenced. Our findings indicates that also D. immitis is transmitted to humans, although all the cases by now reported in the country have been attributed to D. repens. More widespread and detailed investigations are needed to better define the impact of this neglected disease on humans. Finally, entomological investigations are needed to identify the mosquito species actually involved in the parasites transmission and the vector efficiency of each of them, which are data essential to start appropriate control programs

HUMAN OCULAR DIROFILARIOSIS: CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL FEATURES

Dirofilarioses are zoonoses caused by filaria of the genus Dirofilaria, the parasites of domestic and wild animals. People are just random carriers of this parasite. In Europe, human dirofilariosis is caused by two species: Dirofilaria repens ( D. repens, also known as a species of The Old World ), usually with the superficial localization of infection, and D. immitis, which is present throughout the world, and causes, beside superficial, visceral dirofilariosis. So far, based on the data from reference literature, it can be observed that in Serbia about 34 cases of human dirofilariosis have been diagnosed and published. It is assumed that the prevalence of this parasitosis is significantly higher as our country is an endemic area for dirofilariosis in dogs and the region where species of mosquitoes, which are transitory hosts and vectors of Dirofilaria spp., are present. The clinical picture of dirofilariosis depends on the type and location of the parasite in the human body. In our country, patients diagnosed with dirofilariosis had subcutaneous or subconjunctival infection in the majority of cases. Ocular dirofilariosis may affect the orbit and the periorbital region, the skin of the eyelids, the conjunctiva, the Tenon membrane, a retrobulbar space or has an intrabulbar localization. These patients may have a severe disability, and surgery alone can be complicated due to localization. The aim of this review is to highlight the importance of this unexpected important zoonoses, with special emphasis on the importance within the ophthalmic practice

Presence, species distribution, and density of Malassezia yeast in patients with seborrhoeic dermatitis - a community-based case-control study and review of literature

Malassezia yeast belongs to the normal cutaneous flora and under certain conditions it causes seborrhoeic dermatitis (SD). There is no culture-based study about the presence and density of the Malassezia in SD patients in Serbia. Aim was to show the presence, species distribution and density of Malassezia in patients with SD on lesional skin (LS) and non-lesional skin (NLS) and healthy controls (HC) and to compare data between Serbia and other countries. The study included 70 HC and 60 patients with SD in the study group (SG). Isolation, identification and examination of density of Malassezia colony-forming units from LS and NLS were performed. Malassezia was found more frequently in the SG than in HC, 90% and 60%, respectively (P lt 0.01). The most frequent isolates in SG on LS were M. slooffiae (26%), followed by M. globosa (17%) and M. sympodialis (17%). The yeast density was much higher on LS of SG than on NLS of SG or in the HC group (P lt 0.05). Higher density of Malassezia was shown on LS of SG than on NLS of SG and HC. M. slooffiae is the most prevalent species in SD patients in Serbia. This study demonstrated a positive relationship between severity of SD and presence of Malassezia spp

Seroprevalence and risk factors for Toxocara canis infection in Serbia during 2015

We report data on the Toxocara seroprevalence evidenced in 2015 from samples of 40 children and 298 adults of the population living in different areas of Serbia, and on possible association of certain variables with infection. Detection of specific antibodies was performed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; all ambiguous results and part of the positive and negative sera were further analyzed by confirmatory Western blot test. An overall 23.5% seroprevalence was noticed, which was confirmed in 13.0% of the examined population with no significant difference regarding the age (children = 10.0%; adults = 13.4%) or by country area (East = 18.2%; North = 15.5%, Southeastern = 9.5%; p = 0.005). In contrast, the group of adult women proved more reactive than men (p = 0.001), and subjects both who spend spare time in square/parks (p = 0.041) and with positive onychophagy (p = 0.001) habit turned out more exposed to the infection. Possible reasons of these differences were analyzed, and the medical, veterinary, and economic impact of this soil-transmitted zoonosis were discussed

New cases of human dirofilariosis on the Balkan Peninsula - "Masked intruders" uncovered by a surgeon

Dirofilaria spp. nematodes are accidental parasites of humans causing mild to serious, superficial or visceral infections. Superficial dirofilariosis is rather common in Europe and is typically manifested as subcutaneous form. Herein we report 46 new cases of human dirofilariosis (19 patients with subcutaneous, 18 patients with ocular, 4 patients wih genital, 2 patients with submucosal, 2 patients with pulmonary and 1 patient with intramuscular form of infection) that were recorded from the beginning of 2015 to May 2021 on the Balkan Peninsula with a goal to update the prevalence of this parasitosis and point out potential problems in diagnosis and treatment. Besides, given the high possibility of misinterpretation as tumor, our second aim was to encourage the inclusion of this pathogen in the differential diagnosis of subcutaneous nodules. Although quite common forms, subcutaneous and ocular dirofilariosis can be very often misdiagnosed in clinical practice due to the absence of specific clinical manifestations. Therefore, raising awareness of clinicians about this zoonosis is needed as well as closer collaboration between physicians and veterinarians