In Science on the Street we have proposed to remove scientists from the laboratory and take them to the outside world so that they can tell us what they do. We will be with them at the bar, at the market, at the pool … even at an airport!
On this occasion we meet Rodrigo Morchón, a researcher in the Parasitology Area of the Department of Animal Biology of the University of Salamanca. Rodrigo is a specialist in Dirofilaria immitis , a nematode worm that parasitizes the hearts of dogs and causes them a disease that can be fatal.
Cardiopulmonary heartworm mainly affects dogs and cats, and is transmitted through the bites of various species of mosquitoes. The worms usually settle in the pulmonary artery and the right ventricle of their host, and there they can remain for several years.
Prevention is essential
The problem with this disease is that it usually does not begin to manifest itself until it is very advanced, and the symptoms can be quite diffuse. One of the most common is chronic cough, which is also accentuated after exercising. Therefore, prevention is essential, generally through anti-mosquito collars, which, as we have already mentioned, are the main vectors of transmission of the parasite.
We are talking about a cosmopolitan disease whose expansion seems inevitable, since in the world there are increasingly better conditions for transmitting mosquitoes, mainly as a consequence of the increase in temperatures due to climate change, the introduction of mosquito species in new areas or the increase of growing areas.
You can learn more about heartworm disease in this article recommended by Rodrigo Morchón: “Symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and control of cardiopulmonary heartworm”.
Science on the Street is a project carried out in collaboration with the Scientific Culture Unit of the University of Salamanca
