| dc.description.abstract | Dirofilaria immitis (D. immitisi also known as heartworm is the causative
agent of dirofilariasis, a major condition in the dogs which is associated with
debility and deaths in severe cases. It is known to occur in dogs and other animals
particularly in coastal areas all over the world. The high prevalence of this parasite
in several countries has necessitated the use of regular testing and chemoprophylaxis
against it. In the majority of the remaining countries however, the states of this
condition in dogs have not been published. Information on prevalence is important
for setting up monitoring and control programmes of any disease, in any particular
area. In the case of the Kenya coast, no work has been done to give an indication
of the prevalence of D. immitis despite several anectodal reports suggesting its
existence there. This survey was therefore carried out with the primary objectives
being (i) to determine the prevalence of D. immitis in dogs residing at the Kenyan
coast (ii) to examine factors that may predispose dogs to heartworm infection (iii) to
determine the occurrence of other filarids in the same dogs and (iv) to recommend
appropriate control measures.
A total of 830 dogs of mixed breed and sex, aged above 6 months were
selected from ten areas situated along the Kenya coast and examined for heartworm
and other filarial infections by parasitological and serological methods and also by
necropsy. In this survey, the prevalence rate of D. immitis was found to be
17.3 %. Another filaria species, Dipetalonema reconditum, which is nonpathogenic
to dogs was found to exist with D. immitis in examined dogs in almost
equal proportions.
It was concluded from the results, that D. immitis is an important veterinary
pathogen in the Kenyan coast and that its prevalence there warrants efforts to design
appropriate control measures. In the view of this, routine annual testing of resident
dogs for heartworm infection followed by chemotherapy in positive cases and also
the use of regular chemoprophylaxis are recommended for the whole coastal area of
Kenya. | en |
