Serological Investigation of Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) Infection in Military Dogs from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -

Paulo. Abstract This study was designed to find out the seroprevalence of heartworm infection in working military dogs from the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During May, 2015 to June 2016, blood samples from 103 asymptomatic active working dogs from Air Force, Army and Marine Corps were submitted to immunochromatographic rapid test assay for Dirofilaria immitis infection . The study included the whole dog population housed in four military kennels located in different neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro and São Gonçalo cities. The research results revealed an overall mean prevalence of 5.82%. There was no gender influence on the frequency of the infection (p>0.05). The mean age of positive dogs (5.3 years) was higher than the negative ones (3.3 years) (p<0.05). Occult infection was documented in 16.6% of the seropositive