@article{3081984,
    title = "Genotypic assignment of infection by Dirofilaria repens",
    author = "Vakalis, N and Vougioukas, N and Patsoula, E and Spanakos, G and and Sioutopoulou, DO and Vamvakopoulos, NC",
    journal = "Parasitology International",
    year = "2002",
    volume = "51",
    number = "2",
    pages = "163-169",
    publisher = "ELSEVIER SCI IRELAND LTD",
    issn = "1383-5769",
    doi = "10.1016/S1383-5769(02)00007-7",
    keywords = "dirofilariasis; Dirofilaria repens; Dirofilaria immitis; genotyping;
polymerase chain reaction",
    abstract = "Dirofilariasis is a parasitic disease, which if treated inappropriately
due to misdiagnosis, can cause unwanted complications particularly when
the infection is located in the breast. The numerous obstacles that can
cause misdiagnosis of dirofilariases by standard morphological
procedures prompted the development of a Dirofilaria repens-specific
direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic approach using
freshly infected dog blood. Reliable amplification of nematode DNA from
formalin-fixed infected human specimens by this method is only possible
from relatively fresh biological material, preserved in the fixative for
up to 20 days. We report here our first case of dirofilariasis since the
development of PCR genotyping, where the pathogen was morphologically
unrecognizable and the diagnosis was based exclusively on DNA
amplification. We complete our methodological contribution to the
clinical laboratory diagnosis of dirofilariasis by presenting two more
cases, where the primary genotypic assignment of infection by D. repens
was further confirmed by conventional morphological means. (C) 2002
Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved."
}