First molecular detection of Dirofilaria immitis (Spirurida: Onchocercidae) infection in dogs from Northern Algeria

Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens are mosquito-borne filarioid nematodes that affect dogs and other domestic and wild carnivores, causing heartworm disease and subcutaneous dirofilariosis, respectively. In Algeria, the data about the epidemiology of these infections is largely unknown. The present study was designed to establish the occurrence of D. immitis and D. repens in dogs in Algeria using molecular tools. In 2014 and 2015, a total of 209 dogs over one year of age of different breed and sex, living in Northern Algeria, were examined and blood samples were collected from each dog. The presence of D. immitis and D. repens in these samples was detected by real-time PCR followed by standard PCR and sequencing. Overall, the blood of 209 dogs from two departments was collected and only 3 (1.4%) of the blood samples were found positive for D. immitis DNA. Sequencing of the corresponding amplicon displayed a 99.8% identity to D. immitis, confirming the presence of this mosquito-borne nematode in Algeria. Furthermore, all tested samples were negative for D. repens.