| Title |
Evidences of increasing risk of dirofilarioses in southern Italy
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Parasitology Research, December 2012
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00436-012-3206-1 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
A. Giangaspero, M. Marangi, M. S. Latrofa, D. Martinelli, D. Traversa, D. Otranto, C. Genchi |
| Abstract |
Given the spread of Aedes albopictus from northern to southern Italy, and the lack of updated data on Dirofilaria infections, this study was carried out to assess the infection risk for dogs and cats in Apulia region. During a 2-year study, 175 A. albopictus female specimens and samples of blood from 427 dogs (309 privately owned dogs and 118 shelter dogs) and 12 cats were collected. All blood samples were subjected to a modified Knott method, to a test for the detection of circulating Dirofilaria immitis antigen, and to a Dirofilaria species-specific real-time PCR for the simultaneous detection of D. immitis and Dirofilaria repens, targeting on partial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and internal transcribed spacer-2, respectively. Two abdomen and one thorax pools from A. albopictus were positive for D. immitis, with minimum infection rates of 1.14 and 0.51, respectively, and a probability of a single positive specimen to be infected of P = 0.6 % (95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.12-1.73). Out of 439 examined subjects, 22 (5.0 %) tested positive for Dirofilaria spp. in at least one diagnostic test. A specific D. immitis infestation rate of 3.5 % was found among the privately owned dogs, while shelter dogs tested positive only for D. repens with a prevalence of 3.4 %; one cat tested molecularly positive for D. immitis. There was a significantly higher rate of positivity among guard dogs for D. immitis (odds ratio, 6.24, 95 % CI, 1.26-25.28; P < 0.05). The increasing risk of D. immitis infection in southern Italy is supported by the noteworthy positivity of A. albopictus populations and the cat. Our data highlight the usefulness to include filarioid infestation in routine diagnosis. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 51 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 2% |
| Spain | 1 | 2% |
| Unknown | 49 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 10 | 20% |
| Student > Master | 8 | 16% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 7 | 14% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 4 | 8% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 3 | 6% |
| Other | 9 | 18% |
| Unknown | 10 | 20% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 16 | 31% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 8 | 16% |
| Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 7 | 14% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 6% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 2 | 4% |
| Other | 3 | 6% |
| Unknown | 12 | 24% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 18 February 2013.
All research outputs
#20,184,694
of 22,699,621 outputs
Outputs from Parasitology Research
#2,867
of 3,774 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#246,400
of 277,833 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasitology Research
#24
of 26 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,699,621 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,774 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 2.7. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 277,833 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 26 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.