MOUSE ANTI-CANINE HEARTWORM ANTIBODY (3231)

Mouse Anti Canine Heartworm Antibody (3231) reacts with Dirofilaria immitis. The antibody is suitable for enzyme immunoassay (EIA) applications (ELISA). MAB12390 can self-pair or be used as a detection antibody with MAB12391 as a capture antibody. See our Matched Pair Antibodies for more information.

PRODUCT DETAILS – MOUSE ANTI-CANINE HEARTWORM ANTIBODY (3231)

• Mouse Anti Canine Heartworm Antibody (3231).
• Reacts with Dirofilaria immitis. Negative for uninfected canine serum.
• Suitable for use in Sandwich ELISA.
• Purified by Protein G Sepharose chromatography. Greater than 90% pure.
• Presented in phosphate buffered saline, pH 7.2, 0.1% sodium azide.

BACKGROUND

Dirofilaria are long, thin parasitic roundworms that infect a variety of mammals and are transmitted by mosquito bites. There are many species of Dirofilaria, but human infection is caused most commonly by three species, D. immitis, D. repens, and D. tenuis. The main natural hosts for these three species are dogs and wild canids, such as foxes and wolves (D. immitis and D. repens) and raccoons (D. tenuis). D. repens is not found in the United States, and D. tenuis appears to be restricted to raccoons in North America. In Europe, Dirofilaria immitis is distributed mainly in the Mediterranean region, including Italy, Greece and Spain, whereas in northern European countries, the D. repens species is dominant (Miterpáková et al., 2018).

Dirofilariasis is the disease caused by Dirofilaria worm infections. In dogs, one form is called ‘heartworm disease’ and is caused by D. immitis. D. immitis adult worms can cause pulmonary artery blockage in dogs, leading to an illness that can include cough, exhaustion upon exercise, fainting, coughing up blood, and severe weight loss. Heartworm infection may result in serious complications for the host, typically culminating in the host’s death, most often as the result of secondary congestive heart failure. In a canine host, sexually mature worms produce microfilariae that circulate in the blood and are ingested by mosquitoes during a blood meal. In mosquitoes, the microfilariae develop into larvae that migrate to the proboscis where they are ready to infect another host during a blood meal. Heartworms typically live for 3–5 years in an animal’s body. At least 70 species of mosquitoes can transmit heartworm disease, including Aedes, Anopheles, Culex and Mansonia (Atkins, 2019). Humans and a wide range of other mammals are accidental hosts that play no role in the transmission of Dirofilaria. In these hosts, Dirofilaria larvae can develop into adult worms but the worms remain sexually immature and no microfilariae are produced. Like dogs, humans become infected with Dirofilaria through mosquito bites.

Disagnostic testing by ELISA, lateral flow immunoassay and rapid immunomigration techniques are now routinely used to detect heartworm antigen in the host’s blood. They can detect occult infections, or infections without the presence of circulating microfilariae. However, they can only detect the antigens released from the sexually mature female worm’s reproductive tract. Therefore, false-negative results may occur during the first five to eight months of infection when the worms are not yet sexually mature. The specificity of these tests is close to 100%, and the sensitivity is more than 80% (Ettinger et al. (2010).

REFERENCES

• Atkins C. (2019). Heartworm Disease in Dogs. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp (MSD) Veterinary Manual.
• Ettinger et al. (2010). Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine (7th ed.). W.B. Saunders Company.
• Miterpáková et al. (2018). Heartworm on the rise-new insights into Dirofilaria immitis epidemiology. Parasitol Res. 117(7):2347-2350.