First report of heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection in an imported dog in Lithuania

SummaryOver the past decade, increasing numbers of autochthonous cases of heartworm infection have been reported in the countries of Eastern Europe where previously only imported cases were described. In this report we have described the first clinical case of Dirofilaria immitis infection in an imported dog in Lithuania.In 2018, a 5-year-old male Spanish greyhound (Spanish galgo) was imported to Lithuania from southern Spain and referred to a small animal veterinary clinic in Vilnius for wellness screening. Circulating microfilariae and female antigens of D. immitis were detected using the Knott’s test and SNAP 4Dx Plus Test (IDEXX Laboratories, Portland, USA). The diagnosis was confirmed using molecular analysis. Treatment according to the guidelines recommended by the American Heartworm Society was applied. This is the first confirmed report of canine heartworm infection in an imported dog in Lithuania. Heartworm-infected dogs transported to North-Eastern Europe from endemic areas could act as microfilarial reservoirs for the local mosquito population, which could increase the risk of spreading the disease.

Download Full-text

First report on clinical feline heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection in Romania

Helminthologia ◽

10.2478/helm-2020-0009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 57 (1) ◽

pp. 49-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. Pană ◽

A. Rădulescu ◽

I. L. Mitrea ◽

M. Ionita

Keyword(s):

Dirofilaria Immitis ◽

Serological Test ◽

Main Pulmonary Artery ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Clinical Importance ◽

Veterinary Clinic ◽

First Report ◽

Prophylactic Measures ◽

Heartworm Infection ◽

Endemic Areas

SummaryDirofilaria immitis (Nematoda: Filarioidea) is the causative agent of heartworm disease (HWD), a severe and potentially fatal condition in dogs. Although cats are considered more resistant to infection than dogs, they are also susceptible to heartworm infection. Moreover, the clinical importance of feline dirofilariosis has increased in recent years, especially in heartworm endemic areas. In contrast to dog, definitive antemortem diagnosis of heartworm infection in cat is difficult to achieve and a combination of testing methods must be used for clinical confirmation. Here we describe a clinical case of heartworm infection in a 12-year-old male mixed breed cat, originated from Southern Romania, which was referred to a veterinary clinic with a history of vomiting and clinical signs of respiratory distress. The thoracic radiograph showed a diffuse bronchointerstitial pattern of the pulmonary parenchyma. The serological test for D. immitis circulating antibody was positive and heartworms were visualized by echocardiography in the main pulmonary artery. In conclusion, the present study clearly shows that cats are at risk for D. immitis infection in heartworm-endemic areas in Romania. Additionally, the findings highlight the urgent need for increased awareness among veterinary practitioners of the existence of feline heartworm diseases and for adequate prophylactic measures to be applied. To our knowledge, this is the first report on clinical evolution and radiographic and echocardiographic features of a naturally heartworm-infected cat in Romania.

Download Full-text

First autochthonous Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy, 1856) infection in a dog in Hungary

Helminthologia ◽

10.2478/s11687-009-0030-y ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 159-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

O. Jacsó ◽

M. Mándoki ◽

G. Majoros ◽

M. Pétsch ◽

M. Mortarino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dirofilaria Immitis ◽

Serological Test ◽

Symptomatic Treatment ◽

Veterinary Science ◽

Poor General Condition ◽

Abdominal Ultrasonography ◽

Heartworm Infection ◽

The Right ◽

Clinical Conditions ◽

Knott’S Test

AbstractA 4 year-old, male Hungarian Vizsla dog which had never been abroad was referred with poor general condition, decrease in body weight, haematemesis and jaundice to the Central Clinic of Veterinary Science University, Budapest. After symptomatic treatment abdominal ultrasonography and diagnostic laparatomy were carried out. The dog was humanely euthanized two days later following owner’s consent because of sudden worsening of clinical conditions. Two adult heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) were found in the right ventricle partially coiling around the tricuspid valve. PCR on blood was positive for both D. immitis and Dirofilaria repens while only D. repens microfilariae were found by modified Knott’s test and the serological test was negative for D. immitis antigens. This is the first, confirmed report of autochthonous canine heartworm infection in Hungary.

Download Full-text

Colchicum autumnale (Colchicaceae) w okolicach Krakowa – dawne i obecne rozmieszczenie

Fragmenta Floristica et Geobotanica Polonica ◽

10.35535/ffgp-2019-0002 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 15-27

Author(s):

Magdalena Zarzyka-Ryszka

Keyword(s):

Adjacent Area ◽

Colchicum Autumnale ◽

The Past ◽

The North ◽

North Eastern ◽

New Localities ◽

Present Distribution ◽

The 19Th Century ◽

North Eastern Part

The paper describes the past and present distribution of Colchicum autumnale in the vicinity of Cracow, highlights the role of Stanisław Dembosz (who published the first locality of C. autumnale near Igołomia in 1841). Gives information about the occurrence of C. autumnale in Krzeszowice in the 19th century (reported by Bronisław Gustawicz), presents new localities noted in 2012–2014 in meadows in the north-eastern part of the Puszcza Niepołomicka forest and adjacent area (between the Vistula and Raba rivers), and gives a locality found in Cracow in 2005 (no longer extant).

Download Full-text

Introduction

10.1093/oso/9780198746676.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Nurit Yaari

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

The Political ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

Jewish Culture ◽

The Past ◽

Future State ◽

History Of ◽

Late Nineteenth ◽

State Of Israel

This chapter examines the lack of continuous tradition of the art of the theatre in the history of Jewish culture. Theatre as art and institution was forbidden for Jews during most of their history, and although there were plays written in different times and places during the past centuries, no tradition of theatre evolved in Jewish culture until the middle of the nineteenth century. In view of this absence, the author discusses the genesis of Jewish theatre in Eastern Europe and in Eretz-Yisrael (The Land of Israel) since the late nineteenth century, encouraged by the Jewish Enlightenment movement, the emergence of Jewish nationalism, and the rebirth of Hebrew as a language of everyday life. Finally, the chapter traces the development of parallel strands of theatre that preceded the Israeli theatre and shadowed the emergence of the political infrastructure of the future State of Israel.

Download Full-text

From Black Death to Black Hole

10.1093/oso/9780198789345.003.0003 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Marcin Piatkowski

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Black Hole ◽

Sixteenth Century ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Rule Of Law ◽

Western Europe ◽

Black Death ◽

European Continent ◽

The Past

In this chapter I explain why Poland and most countries in Eastern Europe have always lagged behind Western Europe in economic development. I discuss why in the past the European continent split into two parts and how Western and Eastern Europe followed starkly different developmental paths. I then demonstrate how Polish oligarchic elites built extractive institutions and how they adopted ideologies, cultures, and values, which undermined development from the late sixteenth century to 1939. I also describe how the elites created a libertarian country without taxes, state capacity, and rule of law, and how this ‘golden freedom’ led to Poland’s collapse and disappearance from the map of Europe in 1795. I argue that Polish extractive society was so well established that it could not reform itself from the inside. It was like a black hole, where the force of gravity is so strong that the light could not come out.

Download Full-text

Felid Cardiopulmonary Nematodes: Dilemmas Solved and New Questions Posed

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens10010030 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 30

Author(s):

Donato Traversa ◽

Simone Morelli ◽

Angela Di Cesare ◽

Anastasia Diakou

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Infections ◽

Small Animal ◽

Biological Information ◽

Scientific Debate ◽

The Past ◽

Research Perspectives ◽

Unexpected Findings ◽

New Research ◽

Alternative Routes ◽

Applied Knowledge

In the past decade cardiopulmonary nematodes affecting felids have become a core research topic in small animal parasitology. In the late 2000s, an increase in studies was followed by unexpected findings in the early 2010s, which have stimulated research teams to start investigating these intriguing parasites. Prolific scientific debate and exchanges have then fostered field and laboratory studies and epi-zootiological surveys. New data have improved basic and applied knowledge, solved dilemmas and posed new questions. This article discusses the past and present background to felid cardiopulmonary nematodes after the last few years of intense scientific research. New data which have demonstrated the key role of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus and Troglostrongylus brevior in causing respiratory infections in domestic cats, and on the nil to negligible current importance of other species, i.e., Troglostrongylus subcrenatus, Oslerus rostratus and Angiostrongylus chabaudi, are presented. Biological information and hypothesized alternative routes of infection are analysed and discussed. Novel identification and taxonomical data and issues are reported and commented upon. On the whole, recent biological, ecological and epi-zootiological information on felid meta-strongyloids is critically analysed, with the aim to answer outstanding questions, stimulate future studies, and underline new research perspectives.

Download Full-text

Perceived benefits from agroforestry landscapes across North-Eastern Europe: What matters and for whom?

Landscape and Urban Planning ◽

10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104044 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 209 ◽

pp. 104044

Author(s):

M. Elbakidze ◽

D. Surová ◽

J. Muñoz-Rojas ◽

J-O. Persson ◽

L. Dawson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Perceived Benefits ◽

North Eastern ◽

What Matters

Download Full-text

1968. The “Prague Spring”: Fifty Years Later. Historical Essays

10.31168/4469-2006-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Market Economy ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Educational Institutions ◽

General Reader ◽

The Past ◽

Relevant Today ◽

Prague Spring ◽

The Military

This book is devoted to a symbolic event that defined the life and values of several generations. Half a century ago, Czech communists tried to give a new impetus to their country’s system of government by combining socialist values with a rational market economy and the mechanisms of a developed democracy. This effort failed, and the state was occupied by the military. This book is the result of joint efforts by Russian, Czech, and Romanian historians, archivists, and cultural and literary scholars, who—exploring new documents and materials—have reinterpreted these events and their lessons from a present-day perspective. Objectively, the “Prague Spring” is from a bygone era, but it is still a milestone, and many of the problems encountered during the Prague Spring are still relevant today. The authors hope that they have contributed to the historiography of the now-distant events of 1968 and that their contributions will help in analysing the experiences of the past in order to be prepared for the events of the future. This book is aimed at specialists in the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe, students of higher educational institutions, and the general reader interested in twentieth-century history.

Download Full-text

Leishmania infantum and Dirofilaria immitis coinfection in dogs in Greece

Parasitology Open ◽

10.1017/pao.2016.15 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

PANTELIS NTAIS ◽

VASILIKI CHRISTODOULOU ◽

EMMANOUIL DOKIANAKIS ◽

MARIA ANTONIOU

Keyword(s):

Leishmania Infantum ◽

Dirofilaria Immitis ◽

Low Cost ◽

Blood Cultures ◽

Molecular Techniques ◽

Immunological Methods ◽

Parasitic Diseases ◽

Survival Potential ◽

Knott’S Test

SUMMARYLeishmaniasis and dirofilariasis are parasitic diseases of humans and dogs, worldwide, and they are often found as coinfections in endemic areas. Cases of human and canine dirofilariasis have being reported in Greece and leishmaniasis is endemic in most prefectures in humans and dogs. In most cases, dirofilariasis is established by parasitological (the modified Knott's test) and/or immunological methods, whilst for leishmaniasis molecular techniques and culture are also used. During an epidemiological study in Greece, 22·1% of the 5772 dogs studied were found positive by serology forLeishmania.Blood cultures of 165 (12·94%) of these animals producedLeishmaniapromastigotes and 26 (2·03%)Dirofilariamicrofilariae (L1), whilst only in two (0·16%) bothLeishmaniaandDirofilariaL1 appeared. The aim was to assess coinfections by the two parasites in dogs in Greece, the isolation and survival ofDirofilariamicrofilariae andLeishmaniapromastigotes using clotted blood (a fast, simple and low-cost method) and the survival potential of the two parasites in coexistence,in vitro.

Download Full-text

Negotiating agency and structure: Trade union organizing strategies in a hostile environment

Economic and Industrial Democracy ◽

10.1177/0143831x15578157 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 473-494 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Dragoș Adăscăliței ◽

Ștefan Guga

Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Organized Labor ◽

General Situation ◽

Political Environment ◽

Union Organizing ◽

Hostile Environment ◽

The Past ◽

Automotive Assembly ◽

Agency And Structure

This article investigates a case of successful union organizing in one automotive assembly plant in Romania. The authors argue that in order to explain why the union succeeds in defending workers’ rights there is a need to consider both structural and agency aspects that condition labor’s capacity to effectively defend their interests. The findings show that the union at the Romanian plant has made use of a diverse repertoire of protest activities in order to defend its worker constituency. The authors also discuss why as of late protests are less and less used by the union in response to the shifting economic and political environment in which the plant is embedded. They argue that a closer look at the strategy of the Romanian union and the path it has taken in the past decade provides a better understanding of the conditions for union success in an economic, legal, and political environment that has become increasingly hostile toward organized labor. In this sense, the article points to the more general situation unions in Central and Eastern Europe have found themselves in recent years.

Download Full-text