Emerging risk of spp. infection in shelter dogs in southern Italy.

In southern Italy, the number of autochthonous cases of in dogs has increased considerably. This also occurs in the Campania region, particularly in coastal areas, where infections with and have been reported more frequently. Therefore the aim of the present study was to better investigate the occurrence of spp. in a local dog shelter in Castel Volturno (Campania region, southern Italy). Briefly, a total of 260 blood samples were analysed for identification of microfilariae (mff) and detection of antigen. Dogs were classified according to their age (1-3  years; 4-6  years; 7-11  years; > 11  years) and length of stay in the shelter at the time of sampling (dogs that entered in the shelter in the last 4  months; dogs housed in the shelter for more than 4 months up to 2  years; dogs housed for more than 2  years). The modified Knott's test revealed that 195 dogs (75.0%) were positive for circulating mff of spp. Specifically, 104/260 (40.0%) dogs were positive for and 91/260 (35.0%) were positive for . In addition, 72/260 (27.7%) dogs had both and mff. Antigen testing revealed that 78/260 (30.0%) dogs were positive for . However, 26/104 (25.0%) of the dogs with mff were antigen-negative. The overall k concordance between the modified Knott's test and the antigenic test was ≤0.2 (poor) ( = 0.000). The results of the logistic regression model showed a significant association between exposure and the period of time the dogs had spent in the shelter at the time of sampling. Dogs housed in the shelter for 4 months (group 1) and between 4 months and 2 years (group 2) had higher positivity than dogs in group 3 (housed for more than 2 years) (80.4% vs. 79.6% vs. 62.4%, respectively). Moreover, male dogs and older dogs (between 7 and 11 years of age) were more likely to be infected with spp.