1. Dirofilaria repens transmission in southeastern Finland
- Author
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Tiina Kantanen, Anna Nikanorova, Stig Nordling, C. H. Gardiner, Sauli Laaksonen, Risto Pietikäinen, Antti Oksanen, Antti Lavikainen, Petra Heikkinen, Seppo Saari, T. Sakari Jokiranta, Anne-Marie Kerttula, HYKS erva, Medicum, Department of Pathology, University of Helsinki, Research Programs Unit, T. Sakari Jokiranta / Principal Investigator, Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Immunobiology Research Program, Veterinary Biosciences, HUSLAB, Clinicum, Departments of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Seppo Meri / Principal Investigator
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Entomology ,Range (biology) ,Repens ,DISEASE ,law.invention ,Russia ,EMERGENCE ,Zoonosis ,0302 clinical medicine ,law ,Zoonoses ,Vector-borne nematodes ,Climate change ,PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS ,Finland ,biology ,Ecology ,Temperature ,030108 mycology & parasitology ,3142 Public health care science, environmental and occupational health ,3. Good health ,Dirofilaria repens ,Infectious Diseases ,Transmission (mechanics) ,INFECTIONS ,Female ,Dirofilariasis ,Seasons ,Estonia ,EUROPE ,030231 tropical medicine ,Short Report ,MOSQUITOS ,Mosquito Vectors ,lcsh:Infectious and parasitic diseases ,03 medical and health sciences ,Dogs ,Autochthonous infection ,BEARS URSUS-AMERICANUS ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,lcsh:RC109-216 ,Aged ,IMMITIS ,medicine.disease ,biology.organism_classification ,NEMATODES ,CLIMATE ,13. Climate action ,Parasitology ,Dirofilariosis ,3111 Biomedicine - Abstract
Background: The spread of vector-borne diseases to new regions has become a global threat due to climate change, increasing traffic, and movement of people and animals. Dirofilaria repens, the canine subcutaneous filarioid nematode, has expanded its distribution range northward during the last decades. The northernmost European locations, where the parasite life-cycle has been confirmed, are Estonia and the Novgorod Region in Russia. Results: Herein, we describe an autochthonous D. repens infection in a Finnish woman. We also present two cases of D. repens infection in imported dogs indicating the life-cycle in the Russian Vyborg and St Petersburg areas, close to the Finnish border. Conclusions: The most obvious limiting factor of the northern distribution of D. repens is the summer temperature, due to the temperature-dependent development of larvae in vectors. With continuing climate change, further spread of D. repens in Fennoscandia can be expected.
- Published
- 2017