Dirofilariosis by Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens is endemic in dogs from countries of
the Mediterranean basin. Both species may infect humans, with most of the infected patients
remaining asymptomatic. Based on the recent description of the southernmost
hyperendemic European focus of heartworm disease in dogs from the Pelagie archipelagos,
we performed a serological and molecular survey in human population of that area. Human
blood samples were collected in the islands of Linosa (n= 101) and Lampedusa (n= 296) …