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Heartworm-associated respiratory disease (HARD) induced by immature adult Dirofilaria immitis in cats

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, November 2017
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Title
Heartworm-associated respiratory disease (HARD) induced by immature adult Dirofilaria immitis in cats
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, November 2017
DOI 10.1186/s13071-017-2452-6
Pubmed ID
Authors

A. Ray Dillon, Byron L. Blagburn, Michael Tillson, William Brawner, Betsy Welles, Calvin Johnson, Russell Cattley, Pat Rynders, Sharron Barney

Abstract

A controlled, blind research study was conducted to define the initial inflammatory response and lung damage associated with the death of immature adult Dirofilaria immitis in cats as compared with cats developing adult heartworm infections and cats on preventive medication. Three groups of cats were utilized, 10 per group. All cats were infected with 100 third-stage (L3) larvae by subcutaneous injection. Group A cats were treated topically with selamectin (Revolution®; Zoetis) per label directions at 28 days post infection (PI) and once monthly for 8 months. Group B cats were treated orally with ivermectin (Ivomec®; Merial) at 150 μg/kg at 70 days PI, then every 2 weeks for 5 months. Group C cats were untreated PI. At baseline (Day 0) and on Days 70, 110, 168, and 240 PI, peripheral blood, serum, bronchial lavage, and thoracic radiographic images were collected on all cats. Upon completion of the study (Day 245), cats were euthanized and necropsies were conducted. Results were analyzed statistically between groups by ANOVA and by paired sample T testing for changes within the group over time. The selamectin-treated cats (Group A) did not develop radiographically evident changes throughout the study and were free of adult heartworms or worm fragments at necropsy. The heartworm life cycle was abbreviated with oral doses of ivermectin (Group B), shown by the absence of adult heartworms or worm fragments at necropsy. The early stage of immature adult worm in Group B cats, however, did induce severe pulmonary airway, interstitial, and arterial lung lesions, revealing that the abbreviated infection is a significant cause of respiratory pathology in cats. Cats in Groups B and C could not be differentiated based on radiographic changes, serologic antibody titers, complete blood count, or bronchoalveolar lavage cytology at any time point throughout the study. Eighty percent of cats in Group A and 100% of cats in Groups B and C became heartworm antibody positive at some time point post infection. The clinical implications of this study are that cats that become infected with immature adult heartworms may not develop fully mature heartworms and are only transiently heartworm antibody positive, but do develop Heartworm-Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD).

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 33 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 33 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 7 21%
Other 5 15%
Student > Master 4 12%
Student > Postgraduate 2 6%
Student > Bachelor 2 6%
Other 3 9%
Unknown 10 30%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine 10 30%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 3 9%
Medicine and Dentistry 3 9%
Arts and Humanities 1 3%
Business, Management and Accounting 1 3%
Other 3 9%
Unknown 12 36%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 November 2023.
All research outputs
#16,310,452
of 24,797,973 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#3,315
of 5,832 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#203,361
of 337,351 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#88
of 158 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 24,797,973 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 32nd percentile – i.e., 32% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,832 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.1. This one is in the 37th percentile – i.e., 37% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 337,351 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 36th percentile – i.e., 36% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 158 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 39th percentile – i.e., 39% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.