Canine Infections with Onchocerca lupi Nematodes, United States, 2011–2014 - Volume 21, Number 5—May 2015 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

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Canine Infections with Onchocerca lupi Nematodes, United States, 2011–2014 - Volume 21, Number 5—May 2015 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

Volume 21, Number 5—May 2015

Dispatch

Canine Infections with Onchocerca lupi Nematodes, United States, 2011–2014

On This Page

• The Study
• Conclusions
• Suggested Citation

Figures

• Figure 1
• Figure 2

Tables

• Table

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Domenico Otranto , Alessio Giannelli, Maria S. Latrofa, Filipe Dantas-Torres, Nicole Scotty Trumble, Matt Chavkin, Gavin Kennard, Mark L. Eberhard, and Dwight D. Bowman

Author affiliations: Università degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Italy (D. Otranto, A. Giannelli, M.S. Latrofa, F. Dantas-Torres); Aggeu Magalhães Research Institute, Recife, Brazil (F. Dantas-Torres); BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA (N. Scotty Trumble); Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Hospital, Englewood, Colorado, USA (M. Chavkin); Eye Care for Animals, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA (G. Kennard);Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (M.L. Eberhard); Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA (D.D. Bowman)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract

Infections with Onchocerca lupi nematodes are diagnosed sporadically in the United States. We report 8 cases of canine onchocercosis in Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, and Florida. Identification of 1 cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene haplotype identical to 1 of 5 from Europe suggests recent introduction of this nematode into the United States.

The number of human cases of zoonotic filariasis is increasing across industrialized countries (1). In particular, a major zoonotic potential has been recently recognized for Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens nematodes that infect dogs; both of these nematodes have been reported in cases of human dirofilariasis in the Western Hemisphere and the Old World (1,2).

After the first description of Onchocerca lupi nematodes in 1967 in a Caucasian wolf (Canis lupis cubanensis) from Georgia (former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), this nematode has been recognized as the causative agent of canine and feline onchocercosis (3,4). In dogs, the infection occurs in an acute or chronic form characterized by ocular nodules that are often evident on the eyelids, conjunctiva, and sclera (3,5). However, if nematodes localize in the retrobulbar space of the eye, the infection may remain undetected (6). Nonetheless, in disease-endemic areas, O. lupimicrofilariae may be isolated from skin sediments of apparently healthy dogs (7). Thus, dogs with overt ocular infections might represent only a small portion of the population in which canine onchocercosis occurs in countries such as Hungary, Greece, Germany, and Portugal (3,7).

The role of O. lupi nematodes as an agent of infection in dogs in the United States has been suspected. However, nematodes were previously identified only as Onchocerca sp. in California and Utah (8,9) or as O. lienalis in Arizona (10). Recent etiologic delineation of O. lupi nematodes in dogs and cats in southwestern states (4,11,12) suggested involvement of this parasite in previous cases.

After the first case report of human ocular onchocercosis caused by O. lupi nematodes in Turkey (13), interest in this parasite has been renewed, and additional zoonotic cases have been identified in Turkey, Tunisia, and Iran (14). In addition, this parasite has been extracted from the cervical channel of a 22-month-old child in Arizona (12). Information on the epidemiology and life history of O. lupi nematodes is still minimal, and data on its distribution in the United States is limited to 6 case reports (4,11).

We report 8 cases of O. lupi nematode infection in dogs from Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, and Florida. We also compare cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene sequences from 2 nematodes with sequences from parasites in Europe to determine possible recent introduction of this filarioid from Europe to the United States.

Dr. Otranto is a professor in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy. His research interests include biology and control of arthropod vector-borne diseases of animals and humans.

References

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2. Bowman DD. Heartworms, macrocyclic lactones, and the specter of resistance to prevention in the United States. Parasit Vectors. 2012;5:138.PubMed
3. Sréter T, Széll Z. Onchocercosis: a newly recognized disease in dogs. Vet Parasitol. 2008;151:1–13. DOIPubMed
4. Labelle AL, Daniels JB, Dix M, Labelle P. Onchocerca lupi causing ocular disease in two cats. Vet Ophthalmol. 2011;14:105–10. DOIPubMed
5. Zarfoss MK, Dubielzig RR, Eberhard ML, Schmidt KS. Canine ocular onchocerciasis in the United States: two new cases and a review of the literature.Vet Ophthalmol. 2005;8:51–7 . DOIPubMed
6. Franchini D, Giannelli A, Di Paola G, Cortes H, Cardoso L, Lia RP, Image diagnosis of zoonotic onchocercosis by Onchocerca lupi. Vet Parasitol.2014;203:91–5. DOIPubMed
7. Otranto D, Dantas-Torres F, Giannelli A, Latrofa MS, Papadopoulos E, Cardoso L, Zoonotic Onchocerca lupi infection in dogs, Greece and Portugal, 2011–2012. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19:200–3. DOIPubMed
8. Orihel TC, Ash LR, Holshuh HJ, Santenelli S. Onchocerciasis in a California dog. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1991;44:513–7 .PubMed
9. Gardiner CH, Dick EJ Jr, Meininger AC, Lozano-Alarcón F, Jackson P. Onchocerciasis in two dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1993;203:828–30.PubMed
10. Eberhard ML, Ortega Y, Dial S, Schiller CA, Sears AW, Greiner E. Ocular Onchocerca infections in two dogs in western United States. Vet Parasitol.2000;90:333–8. DOIPubMed
11. Labelle AL, Maddox CW, Daniels JB, Lanka S, Eggett TE, Dubielzig RR, Canine ocular onchocercosis in the United States is associated withOnchocerca lupi. Vet Parasitol. 2013;193:297–301. DOIPubMed
12. Eberhard ML, Ostovar GA, Chundu K, Hobohm D, Feiz-Erfan I, Mathison BA, 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. DOIPubMed
13. Otranto D, Sakru N, Testini G, Gürlü VP, Yakar K, Lia RP, Case report: first evidence of human zoonotic infection by Onchocerca lupi (Spirurida, Onchocercidae). Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011;84:55–8. DOIPubMed
14. Otranto D, Dantas-Torres F, Brianti E, Traversa D, Petrić D, Genchi C, Vector-borne helminths of dogs and humans in Europe. Parasit Vectors.2013;6:16.
15. Mutafchiev Y, Dantas-Torres F, Giannelli A, Abramo F, Papadopoulos E, Cardoso L, Redescription of Onchocerca lupi (Spirurida: Onchocercidae) with histopathological observations. Parasit Vectors. 2013;6:309.

Figures

• Figure 1. Subconjunctival nodule on the medial canthus of the right eye of dog 2 (Table), Minnesota, USA. This dog was found to be infected withOnchocerca lupi nematodes.
• Figure 2. Phylogeny of Onchocerca lupi and other filarial nematode species based on partial sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene.Thelazia callipaeda was used as an outgroup. Bootstrap...

Table

• Table. Characteristics of 8 dogs infected with Onchocerca lupi nematodes, United States

Suggested citation for this article: Otranto D, Giannelli A, Latrofa MS, Dantas-Torres F, Scotty Trumble N, Chavkin M, et al. Canine infections withOnchocerca lupi nematodes, United States, 2011–2014. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 May [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2105.141812

DOI: 10.3201/eid2105.141812