A Dirofilaria immitis és Dirofilaria repens mikrofiláriák fénymikroszkópos vizsgálata 2. rész: A Dirofilaria-fajok azonosítása a mikrofiláriák segítségével

Abstract

SUMMARY In the first part of this article the authors described some ways to detect microfilariae of filarioid worms of dog. The second part of the article deals with the identification of microfilariae. By morphological examination of Giemsa-stained microfilariae we can clearly distinguish the Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens species in most cases. Direct examination of the larvae is particularly useful when there is a mixed infection, in which case the serological and molecular tests do not give necessarily appreciable results. D. immitis larvae are much smaller than the microfilariae of the other species and their tapered head and the distribution of cells in their body makes them distinguishable from D. repens larvae. It is useful if one can compare the freshly found microfilariae to previously defined reference specimens stored on microscopic slide. In addition, the authors suggest a simple serial dilution method of haemolysed blood to estimate the amount of larvae that does not require any special devices.