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Successful Transvenous Extraction of Adult Dirofilaria immitis Parasites from a Naturally Infected Domestic Ferret (Mustela putorius furo)
by
, , , and
Eva Mohr-Peraza
1, 
Jorge Isidoro Matos
1,*,
Sara Nieves García-Rodríguez
1
,
Alexis José Santana-González
2,
Elena Carretón
1 and
José Alberto Montoya-Alonso
1
1
Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
2
Anicura Veterinary Hospital, 35011 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2024, 14(17), 2474; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14172474 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 1 July 2024
/
Revised: 6 August 2024
/
Accepted: 23 August 2024
/
Published: 25 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Veterinary Clinical Studies)
Simple Summary
Heartworm disease is a severe and neglected cardiovascular condition in domestic ferrets. Isolated cases of natural infection have been previously reported. However, knowledge of the disease is still considered poor. An unsterilized 2-year-old domestic male ferret was diagnosed using a heartworm antigen test. The animal was asymptomatic and had a good physical appearance. A surgical transvenous extraction was performed, and two worms (one female and one male) were removed. The patient evolved favorably, and repeated diagnostic tests 35 days after surgery showed improvement in the parameters previously evaluated. This clinical case was the first in which it was possible to extract all the parasites from a ferret by endovascular therapy and improves the knowledge of the management of heartworm disease in ferrets.
Abstract
Heartworm disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis is a serious and underdiagnosed cardiovascular condition in domestic ferrets. Hemodynamic changes caused by parasitization in ferrets cause a potentially fatal syndrome, but its clinical findings and treatment have not yet been standardized. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical case of a successful surgical extraction in a ferret infected by D. immitis. The patient was a 2-year-old, 1.5 kg asymptomatic male domestic ferret. The infection was diagnosed using a commercial test for the detection of D. immitis antigens. Subsequently, their clinical status was evaluated using serological and imaging diagnostic tests, and it was finally decided to perform surgical extraction of the adult worms. The ferret was anesthetized and placed in the left lateral decubitus position to perform a venotomy in the right jugular vein. Endoscopic extraction basket-shaped devices were used in the right atrial cavity under fluoroscopic guidance following the Seldinger endovascular surgery technique. With careful handling, two adult parasites were manually removed. A transthoracic echocardiogram performed after the procedure confirmed the absence of heartworms. The ferret recovered without complications and was discharged within 24 h. In the clinical review, 30 days after surgery, no notable alterations or symptoms were observed. This case report describes the first complete surgical removal of adult D. immitis parasites in a naturally infected ferret.
