Correction: Culda et al. The Presence of Dirofilaria immitis in Domestic Dogs on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos. Pathogens 2022, 11, 1287

Text Correction

There was an error in the original publication [1]. In the original manuscript, we indicated that our study was the first report to demonstrate the direct presence of the microfilaria of D. immitis in the blood of dogs in the Galapagos Archipelago. However, we later realized that two earlier studies found microfilaria of D. immitis on two islands of the Galapagos Islands: Floreana and Santa Cruz.

A correction has been made to Section 4. Discussion, paragraph 1:

“This study represents the first report to demonstrate the direct presence of the microfilaria of D. immitis in the blood of dogs in the Galapagos Archipelago, as previous studies targeted the detection of antibodies [27], antigens [22–26] or DNA [26]. The presence of an endemic...” has been replaced with two paragraphs, as show below,

This study represents the first report to demonstrate the direct presence of circulating microfilaria of D. immitis in the blood of dogs in San Cristobal Island, Galapagos. Similar studies were performed in Floreana [27] and Santa Cruz [26], which assessed the detection of antibodies [27], antigens [22–26], and DNA [26].

Our study completed the previous studies [26,27] regarding the presence of circulating microfilaria of D. immitis in the blood of dogs in the Galapagos Archipelago. Most other studies targeted the detection of antibodies [27], antigens [22–26], or DNA [26]. The presence of an endemic cycle for D. immitis depends on the presence of suitable definitive hosts (dogs), vectors (mosquitoes) and the nematodes. The presence and abundance of mosquitoes and the development of D. immitis larvae in mosquitoes are dependent on climatic factors, the most important being the temperature and availability of mosquito breeding sites [51,52]. Hence, climate and weather have a significant impact on the prevalence of canine heartworm. Dirofilaria immitis L1 larvae need an average temperature higher than 15 °C to develop to L3 in the mosquitoes [53]. Additionally, a recent study demonstrated that cumulative exposure to adequate temperatures can result in the progression of larvae from microfilaria to the L3 infective stage [54]. From this point of view, the Galapagos Archipelago represents a suitable biotope for the development of the mosquito vector and of the D. immitis larvae [55]. Furthermore, sea lions spend more time on land [56], especially in the evening when mosquitoes are active [57].

The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused and state that the scientific conclusions are unaffected. This correction was approved by the Academic Editor. The original publication has also been updated.