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Survey Of Dirofilaria Immitis In Dogs From Sivas Province In Thecentral Anatolia Region Of Turkey, Ahmet Duran Ataş, Kürşat Altay, Ahmet Ali̇m, Erkan Özkan

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

In this research, we investigate the prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs using microscopical, serological, and molecular methods from the Central Anatolia Region (Sivas) of Turkey and reveal the associated risk factors. Whole blood and serum samples were obtained from 306 dogs older than 7 months. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the modified Knott's method (Knott) were used for detecting the microfilaria and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied for the presence of D. immitis antigens. The prevalence of D. immitis in dogs was detected as 2.9% (9/306) by PCR and ELISA and as 1.3% (4/306) by Knott. All …