Elena Carretón

• DVM, MSc, PhD
• PostDoc Position at University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Heartworm disease (Dirofilaria immitis) is an important zoonotic infection of major clinical importance in dogs widespread, and transmitted by culicid vectors. Although D. immitis mostly affects dogs with an overall low incidence, some islands of the Atlantic archipelagos such as the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) had one of the hig...

Climatic and various socio-geographical variables have significantly influenced the global spread of Dirofilaria immitis. The coastal district of Aveiro, Portugal, marked by its unique hydrographic structure, Ria de Aveiro, and a concerning rise in heartworm disease, was the focus of our study. We aimed to update the prevalence of D. immitis in dog...

The existence of several methods to obtain the right pulmonary artery distensibility index (RPADi) has complicated the standardization and use of echocardiographic measurement for the determination of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in heartworm disease and other cardiorespiratory pathologies. Therefore, the objective was to determine the precision and...

Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. Here we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipiens form molestus, also known as the London Underground Mosquito. Population genomic analysis of ~350 contemporary and historical samples counter the popular hy...

This study investigates the efficacy of a sustained-release (SR) moxidectin microsphere formulation in preventing canine heartworm infection over 18 months in Canary Hound dogs, a hunting breed common in the Canary Islands, which is a hyperendemic region. These dogs typically do not receive preventive treatments and act as reservoirs for the diseas...

Simple Summary This study aimed to identify thoracic radiographic abnormalities in cats infected with immature worms of Dirofilaria immitis. A total of 123 cats from a hyperendemic area were included and divided into healthy cats (n = 50), asymptomatic cats who were seropositive to D. immitis antibodies (n = 30), and seropositive cats with clinical...

Simple Summary Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common and severe complication in dogs infected with Dirofilaria immitis, often persisting even after treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the progression of PH in dogs by assessing changes in radiographic parameters and the Right Pulmonary Artery Distensibility (RPAD) Index before and after treatm...

Simple Summary Heartworm disease is a severe and neglected cardiovascular condition in domestic ferrets. Isolated cases of natural infection have been previously reported. However, knowledge of the disease is still considered poor. An unsterilized 2-year-old domestic male ferret was diagnosed using a heartworm antigen test. The animal was asymptoma...

Simple Summary Heartworm disease is a zoonotic illness primarily affecting dogs and cats, which poses a significant risk to public health. Gran Canaria (Canary Island, Spain) serves as a hyperendemic region for this disease, offering a model for its study. This research aimed to track Dirofilariosis prevalence and distribution among dogs, cats, and...

Simple Summary Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a high-risk condition in dogs with heartworm disease (Dirofilaria immitis). Echocardiography is the diagnostic technique of choice to detect PH; however, it is not accessible to all routine clinicians. Therefore, given the importance of this condition during an infection with D. immitis, the aim of this...

Subcutaneous dirofilariasis, caused by the parasitic nematode Dirofilaria repens, is a growing concern in Europe, affecting both dogs and humans. This study focused on D. repens Dr20/22, a protein encoded by an alt (abundant larval transcript) gene family. While well-documented in L3 larvae of other filariae species, this gene family had not been e...

Simple Summary Portugal’s favourable climate renders it a hotspot for Dirofilaria immitis in dogs, leading to endemicity. This study aimed to provide an updated assessment of disease prevalence in Portuguese dogs, considering various factors. A total of 1367 dogs were tested, revealing an overall prevalence of 5.9%. The disease is spreading northwa...

Simple Summary The development of new echocardiographic techniques, such as two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography and assessment of longitudinal myocardial deformation, may be new alternative tools to analyse the presence and severity of pulmonary hypertension in heartworm disease. A total of 93 dogs were used, of which 71% were diagnos...

Simple Summary Tissue Doppler imaging is a useful echocardiographic technique to evaluate the systolic and diastolic function of the right ventricle and has been used as an estimator of pulmonary hypertension. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of tissue Doppler echocardiography to determine the presence of pulmonary h...

Simple Summary Cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by the nematode parasite Dirofilaria immitis. This disease is cosmopolitan and mainly affects canids and felids and accidentally humans. The Canary Islands (Spain) are considered an endemic area and some of its islands such as the islands of Tenerife and Gran Ca...

The abandonment and uncontrolled breeding of cats in the urban and rural areas of the island of Gran Canaria (Spain) have been heavily involved in the stray overpopulation of this feline species. This has led to the possibility of concurrent co-infections with certain feline pathogens. Dirofilaria immitis and Bartonella henselae are two zoonotic pa...

Subcutaneous dirofilariasis, caused by the parasitic nematode Dirofilaria repens, is a growing concern in Europe, affecting both dogs and humans. This study focused on D. repens Dr20/22, a protein encoded by an alt (abundant larval transcript) gene family. While well-documented in L3 larvae of other filariae species, this gene family had not been e...

Background Dirofilaria immitis, also known as heartworm, is one of the most important parasitic nematodes of domestic dogs, causing a potentially serious disease, cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis, which can be lethal. This species seems to be less 'expansive' than its sister species Dirofilaria repens, and it is believed that climate change facilitat...

Background: In recent years, the usefulness of echocardiography and serum biomarkers in the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in dogs with heartworm disease has been studied. Previously, N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has shown high concentrations in dogs with heart disease and/or PH as well as its usefulness as a pro...

Background Cats can be infected by Dirofilaria immitis, the causative agent of heartworm disease, characterized by respiratory signs, airway hyperreactivity, remodelling and inflammation. Allergy is a multifactorial pathology, and the role of a number of helminth parasites in the development of allergies in humans and other species has been demonst...

Angiogenesis is a process by which new vessels are formed from pre-existing ones when the physiological conditions of the vascular endothelium are altered. Heartworm disease, caused by Dirofilaria immitis, causes changes in the vascular endothelium of the pulmonary arteries due to obstruction, friction, and hypoxia. The aim of this study was to ana...

Background Angiogenesis is defined as the formation of new vessels by sprouting of endothelial cells from pre-existing vessels in response to stimuli, such as hypoxia or inflammation. Subcutaneous dirofilariasis, caused by Dirofilaria repens, is a zoonotic disease characterized by the formation of subcutaneous nodules with the presence of at least...

La dirofilariosis felina (Dirofilaria immitis) ha empezado a cobrar mayor importancia y conocimiento desde hace relativamente pocos años. Sin embargo, el diagnóstico definitivo sigue siendo un desafío debido a su similitud con otras patologías respiratorias más comunes, como el asma felina o la bronquitis crónica. Los cambios radiológicos asociados...

Background: Angiogenesis is a process by which new vessels are formed from pre-existing ones when the physiological conditions of the vascular endothelium are altered. Heartworm disease (Dirofilaria immitis) causes changes in the vascular endothelium of the pulmonary arteries due to obstruction, friction and hypoxia. The aim of this study was to an...

Simple Summary Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a phenomenon frequently seen in dogs with heartworms. Given the seriousness of this condition, numerous studies have focused on determining its presence. In this study, the pulmonary vein to pulmonary artery ratio (PV:PA ratio), determined by echocardiography, is evaluated in 151 dogs to determine its u...

Cortisol, a steroid produced in the adrenal cortex, is a key hormone used as a measure of stress. Some studies demonstrate that prolonged stress, is associated with reduced survival, fecundity and immunity and that cortisol levels are related to the presence of parasites in some species, with discrepant results. This study aims to investigate the p...

Simple Summary Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a consequence of proliferative pulmonary endoarteritis caused by the parasite Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm). To date, the diagnosis is carried out through echocardiographic determinations, with the right pulmonary artery distensibility (RPAD) index being the gold standard for diagnosis of PH caused by...

Heartworm disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis is a vector-borne disease that affects canids and felids, both domestic and wild, throughout the world. It is a chronic disease which causes vascular damage in pulmonary arteries, and in advanced stages, the presence of pulmonary hypertension and right-sided congestive heart failure can be evidenced....

Adults of D. immitis taken out of an infected dog in a necropsy (veterinary cardiology service; University of las Palmas de Gran Canaria). Assessment of pulmonary hypertension in dogs with heartworm by using the ratio between the right and left ventricle 1º Introduction 3º Results 2º Methodology 4º Conclusion The infection caused by Dirofilaria imm...

Canine heartworm infection can cause a serious and highly fatal disease developed by the nematode Dirofilaria immitis. Severe cardiorespiratory clinical symptoms are related to the appearance and persistence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) of precapillary origin. The evaluation of the measurements obtained by transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE) ex...

Simple Summary Angiostrongylus vasorum (A. vasorum) is the causal agent of canine angiostrongylosis, an emerging disease in Europe. In Spain, A. vasorum mainly affects wild animals (red foxes and wolves), although studies in domestic dogs are scarce but show evidence of an expansion of the disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence...

Usefulness of computed tomography pulmonary vein to pulmonary artery ratio in the assessment of pulmonary hypertension in dogs with heartworm disease Heartworm disease is a serious and highly fatal disease caused by the nematode Dirofilaria immitis. Heartworm in dogs can cause clinical symptoms, including persistent dyspnea, congestive heart failur...

Dirofilaria immitis is a parasitic nematode and causes dirofilariosis, a potentially fatal pulmonary infection which primarily infects canids. Dirofilariosis infections are controlled via prophylactic macrocyclic lactone (ML) regimens. Recent evidence has confirmed the development of ML-resistant isolates in the USA, which are genetically distinct...

Angiostrongylus vasorum es el agente causante de la angiostrongilosis canina, una enfermedad que afecta a cánidos, tanto domésticos como salvajes. Su presencia ha sido analizada en varias zonas del territorio español con diferentes prevalencias como son Galicia (1,86%), Cantabria, Asturias y País Vasco (2,74%), Castilla y León (0,75%), Aragón y Cat...

Previous studies have shown the existence of an acute phase response in dogs with heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis), probably caused by the vascular inflammation that occurs during the pathogenesis of this disease. In addition, it has been seen that this acute phase response persists after finishing treatment, especially in dogs with pulmonary hypert...

Simple Summary Dirofilaria immitis is a nematode parasite causing heartworm disease worldwide. Spain is one of the southern European countries where the risk of infection in domestic dogs is moderate/high. The aim of this study was to update the epidemiology of canine heartworm and analyse the results based on climate and other geo-environmental fa...

Feline heartworm is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis. It is a cosmopolitan disease that is continuously expanding. Spain is considered an endemic country; however, although there are many published studies in dogs, feline heartworm has been poorly studied in this country. Thus, the objective was to analyze the exposure...

La dirofilariosis felina y la aelurostrongilosis felina son dos enfermedades parasitarias pulmonares que han sido infradiagnosticadas durante mucho tiempo en el gato doméstico. Esto se debe principalmente a su semejanza con otras patologías respiratorias más comunes. Con el paso del tiempo, estas enfermedades han tomado importancia entre los clínic...

Los nematodos respiratorios de los gatos domésticos han sido subestimados durante mucho tiempo porque se les atribuía baja capacidad patógena y porque algunos de ellos han sido prácticamente desconocidos en esta especie hasta hace una década. No obstante, la distribución de los vermes pulmonares felinos ha aumentado por toda Europa y, aunque los ga...

Background: Dirofilaria immitis is a parasitic filarial nematode. It is the causative agent of dirofilariosis, a potentially fatal pulmonary infection which primarily infects canids and felines. dirofilariosis infections are primarily controlled with a prophylactic macrocyclic lactone (ML) regimen. Recent evidence has confirmed the development of M...

Various factors are currently causing an increase in vector-borne parasitic diseases at a global scale; among them, some stand out, such as climatic disturbances derived from global change, the increase in movements of reservoir animals, or changes in land made by human activity. In the European continent, there have been an increasing number of ep...

La dirofilariosis cardiopulmonar es una enfermedad muy grave y potencialmente fatal, causada por un parásito de la familia de los nematodos llamado Dirofilaria immitis (D. immitis). Este parásito se considera la especie de filárido más importante y conocido a nivel nacional, el cual afecta principalmente a las poblaciones caninas y felinas, tanto s...

Dirofilaria immitis is a parasitic nematode responsible of cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis. This disease is endemic in Spain, being reported in the dog in almost the whole country; furthermore, feline infections are diagnosed with increasing frequency in areas where the disease is endemic in dogs. However, cats generally tolerate heartworm infection...

Cardiopulmonary nematodes are emerging parasites in the feline species in Europe. Aelurostrongylosis (Aelurostrongylus abstrusus) is characterized by inflammatory cell infiltrates in the bronchi and the lung parenchyma of the infected cats. Serum amyloid A (SAA) is considered a major acute phase protein (APP) in the cat, increasing few hours after...

El éxito del tratamiento adulticida y el pronóstico del paciente dependen de la gravedad inicial de la infección por Dirofilaria immitis en perros. Se realizó un muestreo para evaluar la utilidad diagnóstica de los marcadores de coagulación PT y APTT, así como del examen hematológico para la contribución de la evaluación del paciente infectado y de...

Editorial on the Research Topic Zoonotic Diseases: Their Host and Vectors When Frontiers in Veterinary Science asked us to produce a Research Topic, we were aware of the importance and dissemination it could have, so we tried to address an interesting, attractive, and practical topic that would be of help to the scientific community and the general...

Background: Dirofilaria immitis is a parasitic filarial nematode. It is the causative agent of dirofilariosis, a potentially fatal pulmonary infection which primarily infects canids and felines. dirofilariosis infections are primarily controlled with a prophylactic macrocyclic lactone (ML) regimen. Recent evidence has confirmed the development of M...

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a powerful vasoconstrictor and promoter of cell proliferation, causing chronic structural changes leading to cardiopulmonary tissue remodeling, which probably leads to the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in dogs and humans. Furthermore, ET-1 concentrations strongly correlate with the severity of PH. The objective w...

Heartworm disease is a cardiopulmonary condition caused by Dirofilaria immitis, which lodges in the pulmonary arteries of the hosts. The presence of the parasites produces pulmonary endarteritis, which chronically leads to pulmonary hypertension (PH) and right-sided cardiac failure. The diagnosis of these alterations is essential for a correct mana...

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is one of the most serious complications in dogs with heartworm (HW). An acute phase response and the utility of acute phase proteins (APP) as early biomarkers of PH have been demonstrated in infected dogs (Venco et al., 2014 Vet Parasitol. 206:48-54; Carretón et al., 2017 Parasit Vectors 10:477). Since PH seems to persi...

Simple Summary Canine angiostrongylosis is a vascular and pulmonary disease caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum. In Europe, there has been an increasing number of studies showing a rise in the studies in both domestic and wild canids. In Spain, angiostrongylosis is still little-known, and studies are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze the p...

Currently, climate change, modifications of landscapes and habitats due to human activities, as well as an increase in the movement of reservoirs and new species of competent vectors, have contributed to the spread of canine vector-borne diseases. These are mostly emerging and neglected diseases, some of them with zoonotic potential. Therefore, the...

Currently, climate change, modifications of landscapes and habitats due to human activities, as well as an increase in the movement of reservoirs and new species of competent vectors, have contributed to the spread of canine vector-borne diseases. These are mostly emerging and neglected diseases, some of them with zoonotic potential. Therefore, the...

Simple Summary Heartworm is a parasitic infection transmitted by mosquitoes to animals and humans. The risk of human infections is high in those areas with high canine prevalence, such as the Canary Islands. In these islands, there is also a high number of allergic inhabitants. Since some studies have shown a relationship between parasite infection...

The endosymbiont bacteria Wolbachia plays an important role in the pathogenesis and inflammatory immune response to heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection in dogs. Doxycycline is used to reduce Wolbachia from all life stages of heartworm to avoid large releases of the bacteria during the death of the worms. However, the dose and duration current...

Background: Angiostrongylus vasorum is the causative agent of canine angiostrongylosis, a disease that mainly affects domestic dogs and other wild carnivores. In Europe, the number of infected individuals is increasing, being located in central and southern countries. In Spain, several studies have reported high prevalence of A. vasorum in wild an...

Cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis caused by Dirofilaria immitis produces inflammation, blood vessel obstruction and hypoxia, which are required conditions for the beginning of the process of neovascularization. Since D. immitis harbours intracellular symbiotic Wolbachia bacterium, the global understanding of the angiogenic process requires the analysi...

Glomerulonephropathy associated with Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) is relatively frequent in infected dogs. Given the importance and the scarcity of studies focused on its prevalence and diagnosis, the objective was to determine the prevalence of proteinuria and functional indicators of glomerular filtration rate in dogs with heartworm disease an...

The objective of this work was to determine the risk of exposure to Dirofilaria immitis in the stray dog population and people living in the metropolitan area of Puebla City, Mexico, using serologic methods. A total of 283 blood salmples were collected from dogs and 254 salmples from people. The canine samples were analyzed using a commercial kit t...

Epidemiological and clinical evidences suggest that Dirofilaria immitis seemed to be a powerful risk factor form allergic humans findings. The main aim of our work was to assess the relationship between the presence of Dirofilaria inmitis in cats and the high prevalence of allergic comorbidities in the human population of the Canary islands, an hyp...

Currently, climate change, modifications of lands and habitats due to human activities, as well as an increase in the movement of reservoirs and new species of competent vectors, have contributed to the spread of canine vector-borne diseases. These are mostly emerging and neglected diseases, some of them with zoonotic potential. Therefore, the obje...

Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) is a zoonotic and an emerging disease, expanding in Europe. In Bulgaria, the presence of the parasite has been described in many regions. However, canine heartworm has hardly been evaluated in the capital of the country and, therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of canine he...

Heartworm is a zoonotic infection transmitted by culicid mosquitoes. The Canary Islands are hyperendemic for heartworm and 6.2%-12.7% of the inhabitants present anti-D. immitis antibodies; thus, the risk of zoonotic infection is high and is tied to the canine prevalences. Also, there are evidences of hypersensitivity due to nematode infections in a...

Los estudios de la última década advierten de un aumento de la prevalencia y expansión de las enfermedades parasitarias. Entre ellas, se encuentra la angiostrongilosis canina, también conocida como filaria francesa, producida por el nematodo Angiostrongylus vasorum. Las razones para esta emergencia no están demostradas ni se conocen del todo, pero...

La dirofilariosis felina, producida por el parásito Dirofilaria immitis, se está diagnosticando cada vez con mayor frecuencia. Esto es debido a que cada vez existe un mayor conocimiento de esta enfermedad en la especie felina y al desarrollo de mejores métodos diagnósticos. La fisiopatología de esta enfermedad varía respecto a la especie canina. En...

Acumulación de líquido trasudado en el espacio intersticial y/o alvéolos pulmonares. En condiciones normales, el líquido filtrado que puede salir del capilar alveolar se desplaza primero al espacio intersticial de la pared alveolar y luego al espacio intersticial peribroncovascular, donde es drenado por los vasos linfáticos. El edema pulmonar repre...

Durante la última década, se han realizado importantes investigaciones para analizar la utilidad de los biomarcadores serológicos para detectar lesiones del miocardio y alteraciones de la funcionalidad cardiaca, así como daños pulmonares, con el objetivo de lograr un diagnóstico más preciso, un pronóstico fiable y abordar el tratamiento de la patol...

Resumen Dirofilaria immitis es un nematodo hemático responsable de la dirofilariosis cardiopulmonar canina, siendo considerada una zoonosis y una enfermedad emergente a nivel global. Las Islas Canarias son una región hiperendémica con un alto riesgo de infección zoonótica. Encontramos la prevalencia de asma más alta y trastornos atópicos dentro de...

Dirofilariosis caused by Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) is a zoonosis, considered an endemic disease of dogs and cats in several countries of Western Europe, including Portugal. This study assesses the levels of D. immitis exposure in humans from Northern Portugal, to which end, 668 inhabitants of several districts belonging to two different clima...

Human subcutaneous dirofilariosis has several clinical presentations. Many cases present as subcutaneous nodules, as a consequence of a local inflammatory reaction that encapsulates and destroys the worms. In addition, there are cases in which migrating worms located in the ocular area remain unencapsulated. In the present work, the levels of two p...

Pulmonary endarteritis caused by Dirofilaria immitis and pulmonary hypertension (PH) are closely linked and the determination of PH could be validated to assess the severity and chronicity of the vascular damage, i.e. by the use of the Right Pulmonary Artery Distensibility (RPAD) Index. The aim was to evaluate the RPAD Index in dogs 10 months after...

Background Angiogenesis can occur under pathological conditions when stimuli such as inflammation, vascular obstruction or hypoxia exist. These stimuli are present in cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis (Dirofilaria immitis). The aim of this study was to analyze the capacity of D. immitis antigens to modify the expression of angiogenic factors and trigg...

The treatment of canine heartworm has been modified over the years, adding improvements for greater efficacy, safeness and better prognosis. Currently, the recommended adulticidal protocol consists of the administration of three doses of melarsomine dihydrochloride, preceded by the administration of macrocyclic lactones over two to three months. Th...