Dirofilaria repens - Adult worm

France, Marty Pierre

Dirofilaria repens is a whitish, thread-like nematode. Male worm is 5 cm to 7 cm in length, and 350 µm to 400 µm in diameter. Female worm is 10 cm to 17 cm in length, and about 500 µm in diameter. Wild or domestic (dogs, cats …) small carnivores are definitive hosts, and mosquitoes are vectors. Man is an unusual host, in whom worm remains immature, and represents a dead-end in parasite’s life cycle.