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Istria, along with the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, is one of the two regions in Croatia where the presence of dirofilariasis in dogs caused by the parasite Dirofilaria immitis has been positively confirmed. On the other hand, dirofilariasis in dogs caused by the parasite Dirofilaria repens is present throughout Croatia. Over ten human cases have been recorded in the period after the first confirmed case of dirofilariasis in man caused by the same parasite in 1996 to the present day. Considering the fact that the mosquito of the Aedes albopictus genus, which has been spreading aggressively along the coasts of the Istrian peninsula and towards its hinterland for the past three years, is the vector that transmits dirofilariasis from dogs, its natural hosts, to other animals and man, we would like to investigate the epizootiological prevalence of dirofilariasis among dogs in the area of Buzeština. Studies were carried out on 200 dogs, representing a 10% sample of the total number of dogs registered in the area of the Buzet epizootiological unit. The disease was confirmed in 61 (30.5%) dogs by Knott test and IDEXX SNAP 4Dx test. In 45.9% of these cases Dirofilaria repens was identified by microscopic differentiation of positive findings, and in the other 26.3% of cases the presence of the parasite Dirofilaria repens was deemed very probable. It was considered certain that Dirofilaria immitis was the causative agent in 6.6% of positive cases, and probably in further 9.8% of cases, confirming thereby statistically a significantly higher presence of Dirofilaria repens (χ2 = 17.02 ; df = 1 ; p < 0.01), as well. However, no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of the disease has been established with respect to the gender of dogs (χ2 = 0.258 ; df = 1 ; p > 0.05) nor with respect to the prevalence of the disease between truffle dogs and hunting dogs. When locating positive findings on the geographical map, the endangered areas are clearly discernible, especially in the immediate vicinity of Lake Butoniga and the Mirna River with its tributaries. However, due to less favourable climatic and geographical conditions for the reproduction of mosquitoes, the disease is less frequent in the Ćićarija, Erkovčić area and in the northern part of the municipality of Buzet. It is very worrying that t-test for proportions in the area of Istria have statistically confirmed the presence of a significantly greater number of affected dogs compared to the investigation carried out in the same area three years ago (t = 3.41).

Istra je uz Dubrovačko-neretvansku županiju jedno od dva područja u Hrvatskoj u kojima je nedvojbeno utvrđena prisutnost dirofilarioze pasa uzrokovane parazitom Dirofilaria immitis. Nasuprot tome, dirofilarioza uzrokovana parazitom Dirofilaria repens u pasa je prisutna širom Hrvatske. U razdoblju od prvog utvrđenog slučaja humane dirofilarioze istim uzročnikom 1996. godine do danas dokumentirano je preko desetak oboljelih osoba. S obzirom da je komarac iz roda Aedes albopictus, koji se unazad tri godine agresivno širi uz obale istarskoga poluotoka i prema unutrašnjosti, upravo vektor koji dirofilarijazu prenosi s pasa kao prirodnih domaćina, na druge životinje i čovjeka, željela se istražiti epizootiološka raširenost dirofilarijaze među psima na području Buzeštine. Istraživanjem je bilo obuhvaćeno 200 pasa, što predstavlja 10%-tni uzorak ukupnoga broja registriranih pasa na području epizootiološke jedinice Buzet. Metodom Knott testa i testom IDEXX SNAP 4Dx bolest je potvrđena kod 61 (30,5%) psa. Među njima mikroskopskom diferencijacijom je kod 45,9% pozitivnih nalaza identificirana Dirofilaria repens, a kod još 26,3% njih vrlo vjerojatno se radilo o parazitu Dirofilaria repens. U 6,6% pozitivnih slučajeva se sigurno, a u daljnjih 9,8% vjerojatno radilo o Dirofilaria immitis, pri čemu je utvrđena i statistički značajno veća prisutnost Dirofilariae repens. (χ2 = 17,02; df = 1; p < 0,01). Nije međutim utvrđena statistički značajna razlika u obolijevanju pasa s obzirom na spol (χ2 = 0,258; df = 1; p > 0,05), kao ni u učestalosti obolijevanja između psa tartufara i lovačkih pasa. Lociranjem pozitivnih nalaza na geografskoj karti jasno se izdvajaju posebno ugrožena područja i to u neposrednoj blizini Butoniga jezera i toka rijeke Mirne, te njezinih pritoka, dok je bolest zbog klimatogeografski nepovoljnijih uvjeta za razmnožavanje komaraca rjeđa na području Ćićarije, Erkovčića i sjevera općine Buzet. Posebno je zabrinjavajuće što je t-testom za proporcije na području Istre statistički potvrđena prisutnost značajno više oboljelih pasa nego u istraživanju provedenom na tom području prije tri godine (t = 3,41)., Istria, along with the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, is one of the two regions in Croatia where the presence of dirofilariasis in dogs caused by the parasite Dirofilaria immitis has been positively confirmed. On the other hand, dirofilariasis in dogs caused by the parasite Dirofilaria repens is present throughout Croatia. Over ten human cases have been recorded in the period after the first confirmed case of dirofilariasis in man caused by the same parasite in 1996 to the present day. Considering the fact that the mosquito of the Aedes albopictus genus, which has been spreading aggressively along the coasts of the Istrian peninsula and towards its hinterland for the past three years, is the vector that transmits dirofilariasis from dogs, its natural hosts, to other animals and man, we would like to investigate the epizootiological prevalence of dirofilariasis among dogs in the area of Buzeština. Studies were carried out on 200 dogs, representing a 10% sample of the total number of dogs registered in the area of the Buzet epizootiological unit. The disease was confirmed in 61 (30.5%) dogs by Knott test and IDEXX SNAP 4Dx test. In 45.9% of these cases Dirofilaria repens was identified by microscopic differentiation of positive findings, and in the other 26.3% of cases the presence of the parasite Dirofilaria repens was deemed very probable. It was considered certain that Dirofilaria immitis was the causative agent in 6.6% of positive cases, and probably in further 9.8% of cases, confirming thereby statistically a significantly higher presence of Dirofilaria repens (χ2 = 17.02; df = 1; p < 0.01), as well. However, no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of the disease has been established with respect to the gender of dogs (χ2 = 0.258; df = 1; p > 0.05) nor with respect to the prevalence of the disease between truffle dogs and hunting dogs. When locating positive findings on the geographical map, the endangered areas are clearly discernible, especially in the immediate vicinity of Lake Butoniga and the Mirna River with its tributaries. However, due to less favourable climatic and geographical conditions for the reproduction of mosquitoes, the disease is less frequent in the Ćićarija, Erkovčić area and in the northern part of the municipality of Buzet. It is very worrying that t-test for proportions in the area of Istria have statistically confirmed the presence of a significantly greater number of affected dogs compared to the investigation carried out in the same area three years ago (t = 3.41).