Today, when animals have become family members, thus bringing a whole spectrum of positiveeffects on both the mental and physical health of people, the more we must bear in mindthe potential hazards arising from such a relationship in order to make possessing companionanimals both pleasant and safe. One such threat is undoubtedly dirofilariosis. Dirofilariosis isa parasitic zoonosis caused by the invasion of mosquito-borne nematodes of the genus Dirofilaria.Man is an accidental host of the parasite. Although dirofilariosis is considered to be anendemic disease of Mediterranean and US origin, which rarely affects humans, the increasingnumber of diagnosed cases in animals in Poland may in the near future result in frequentinvasion of the parasite also in humans in our country. Frequent animal movements as wellas the presence in Poland of mosquitoes capable, as a result of climate change, of carryingthe pathogen seem to confirm this thesis. Clinical displays of human parasite invasion aremostly pulmonary, subcutaneous and ocular forms, as well as some others, which occur lessfrequently. Appropriate prophylaxis in animals, as well as the complex treatment of existinginvasion, provides both animals and humans with security and comfort of life.
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