: Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens are mosquito-borne filarioid nematodes of veterinary and public health importance whose distribution is expanding across Europe. This study developed an integrated One Health surveillance framework combining mosquito monitoring, molecular xenomonitoring, blood-meal analysis, and veterinary epidemiological data to assess Dirofilaria circulation and transmission dynamics. During the 2025 transmission season, mosquitoes were collected by the University of Parma in urban and peri-urban areas and by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia ed Emilia-Romagna (IZSLER) in rural areas. Female mosquitoes were morphologically identified and analysed in pools by Real-time PCR for D. immitis and D. repens DNA. Positive pools were screened for West Nile virus, Usutu virus, and insect-specific flaviviruses in order to detect possible co-infection parasite-virus. Blood-fed mosquitoes were individually analysed by mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA sequencing to identify vertebrate hosts. Veterinary practices across Emilia-Romagna were surveyed for canine and feline dirofilariosis during 2024-2025. Overall, 11,225 females belonging to eight species were collected and 181 pools analysed. D. immitis predominated in urban collections, whereas D. repens was more frequent in peri-urban and rural areas. Aedes albopictus was the principal positive species in urban environments, while Aedes caspius predominated in rural settings. Humans were the predominant blood-meal host, followed by dogs, horses, cattle, and birds. Veterinary and vector surveillance showed poor agreement, indicating complementary epidemiological information. These findings highlight complex transmission patterns and support integrated One Health surveillance to improve risk assessment and guide evidence-based prevention and control strategies for Dirofilaria and other vector-borne zoonoses.
An integrated One Health surveillance approach to Dirofilaria spp.: Linking mosquito xenomonitoring, blood-meal analysis and veterinary epidemiology / Vismarra, A., Fozzer, M., Genchi, M., Tenga, A., Semeraro, M., Calzolari, M., Grisendi, A., Bazzocchi, C., Kramer, L., Stocchero, C., Cafiso, A.. - In: VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY. - ISSN 0304-4017. - 349:(2026). [10.1016/j.vetpar.2026.110963]
An integrated One Health surveillance approach to Dirofilaria spp.: Linking mosquito xenomonitoring, blood-meal analysis and veterinary epidemiology
Vismarra, Alice
;Fozzer, Marta;Genchi, Marco;Semeraro, Manuela;Kramer, Laura;
2026-01-01
Abstract
: Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens are mosquito-borne filarioid nematodes of veterinary and public health importance whose distribution is expanding across Europe. This study developed an integrated One Health surveillance framework combining mosquito monitoring, molecular xenomonitoring, blood-meal analysis, and veterinary epidemiological data to assess Dirofilaria circulation and transmission dynamics. During the 2025 transmission season, mosquitoes were collected by the University of Parma in urban and peri-urban areas and by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia ed Emilia-Romagna (IZSLER) in rural areas. Female mosquitoes were morphologically identified and analysed in pools by Real-time PCR for D. immitis and D. repens DNA. Positive pools were screened for West Nile virus, Usutu virus, and insect-specific flaviviruses in order to detect possible co-infection parasite-virus. Blood-fed mosquitoes were individually analysed by mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA sequencing to identify vertebrate hosts. Veterinary practices across Emilia-Romagna were surveyed for canine and feline dirofilariosis during 2024-2025. Overall, 11,225 females belonging to eight species were collected and 181 pools analysed. D. immitis predominated in urban collections, whereas D. repens was more frequent in peri-urban and rural areas. Aedes albopictus was the principal positive species in urban environments, while Aedes caspius predominated in rural settings. Humans were the predominant blood-meal host, followed by dogs, horses, cattle, and birds. Veterinary and vector surveillance showed poor agreement, indicating complementary epidemiological information. These findings highlight complex transmission patterns and support integrated One Health surveillance to improve risk assessment and guide evidence-based prevention and control strategies for Dirofilaria and other vector-borne zoonoses.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
