Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Dec;19(12):2000-3.
doi: 10.3201/eid1912.130264.

Zoonotic Onchocerca lupi infection in dogs, Greece and Portugal, 2011-2012

Domenico Otranto, Filipe Dantas-Torres, Alessio Giannelli, Maria Stefania Latrofa, Elias Papadopoulos, Luís Cardoso, Helder Cortes

Zoonotic Onchocerca lupi infection in dogs, Greece and Portugal, 2011-2012

Domenico Otranto et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Onchocerca lupi infection is reported primarily in symptomatic dogs. We aimed to determine the infection in dogs from areas of Greece and Portugal with reported cases. Of 107 dogs, 9 (8%) were skin snip-positive for the parasite. DNA sequences of parasites in specimens from distinct dog populations differed genetically from those in GenBank.

Keywords: Greece; Onchocerca lupi; Portugal; dogs; infection; parasites; zoonoses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A) Areas (in gray) and localities (black dots) where Onchocerca lupi infections were reported and sampling sites (asterisk) from Greece (site A) and Portugal (site B). Scale bar = 500 km. B) Light microscopy image of microfilariae of O. lupi detected at the skin sediment. Scale bar = 20 µm. Original magnification ×100. Dog positive for O. lupi had conjunctival swelling and a purulent mucus discharge (C), or blindness with severe keratitis and uveitis (D).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogeny of Onchocerca lupi and other filarial nematodes based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene sequences. Thelazia callipaeda was used as outgroup. Bootstrap confidence limits (8,000 replicates). GenBank accession numbers and number of haplotype sequences (in parenthesis) are reported along with their geographic origin. Scale bar indicates genetic differences.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Otranto D, Eberhard ML. Zoonotic helminths affecting the human eye. Parasit Vectors. 2011;4:41. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eberhard ML, Ostovar GA, Chundu K, Hobohm D, Feiz-Erfan I, Mathison BA, et al. Zoonotic Onchocerca lupi infection in a 22-month-old child in Arizona: first report in the United States and a review of the literature. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013;88:601–5 . 10.4269/ajtmh.12-0733 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sréter T, Széll Z. Onchocercosis: a newly recognized disease in dogs. Vet Parasitol. 2008;151:1–13 . 10.1016/j.vetpar.2007.09.008 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sréter T, Széll Z, Egyed Z, Varga I. Subconjunctival zoonotic onchocerciasis in man: aberrant infection with Onchocerca lupi? Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2002;96:497–502 . 10.1179/000349802125001267 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Otranto D, Sakru N, Testini G, Gürlü VP, Yakar K, Lia RP, et al. Case report: first evidence of human zoonotic infection by Onchocerca lupi (Spirurida, Onchocercidae). Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011;84:55–8. 10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0465 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data

LinkOut - more resources