Seroprevalence of Dirofilaria immitis in Cats from Liaoning Province, Northeastern China
2017
Honglie Hou, Jilin University, Changchun, China | Lili Cao, Jilin University, Changchun, China | Wenzhi Ren, Jilin University, Changchun, China | Dansheng Wang, School of Agriculture Eastern Liaoning University, Dandong, China | He Ding, Jilin University, Changchun, China | Juan You, School of Medicine Eastern Liaoning University, Dandong, China | Xinhua Yao, Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, China | Hang Dong, Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, China | Yanbing Guo, Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, China | Shuxian Yuan, Jilin Academy of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Changchun, China | Xichen Zhang, Jilin University, Changchun, China | Pengtao Gong, Jilin University, Changchun, China
The present study was performed to investigate the seroprevalence and risk factors for Dirofilaria immitis infection in cats from Liaoning province, northeastern China. From October 2014 to September 2016, sera of 651 cats, including 364 domestic cats and 287 feral cats (332 females and 319 males) were assessed. They were tested for the presence of D. immitis antigen using SNAP Heartworm RT test kit. In this population, the average prevalence was 4.5%. Age and rearing conditions (feral or domestic) were found to be associated with the prevalence of D. immitis. The prevalence was significantly higher in feral cats compared with domestic cats (8.4% vs 1.4%, P less than 0.01). There was no significant difference between males and females (4.7% vs 4.2%, P greater than 0.05), but older cats (greater than or equal to 3 years old) showed a statistically higher prevalence compared with younger cats (less than 3 years old) in feral populations (16.8 vs 2.4%, P less than 0.01), while the difference between the age groups was not statistically significant in domestic cats (2.4% vs 0.51%, P greater than 0.05), all these results suggest that outdoor exposure time may be one of the most important factors for D. immitis prevalence in cats. Results reveal that D. immitis are prevalence in domestic and feral cats in northeastern China, which indicates that appropriate preventive measures should be taken to decrease the incidence of feline heartworm disease in Liaoning province, northeastern China.
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