Human Pulmonary Dirofilariasis Due to Dirofilaria immitis: The First Italian Case Confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis, with a Systematic Literature Review

Dirofilariasis is a zoonosis caused by nematodes of the genus Dirofilaria. Dirofilaria immitis is cos-mopolitan as regards its distribution in animals, being responsible for human pulmonary diro-filariasis in the New World. However, human infections by Dirofilaria immitis are exceptional in Europe, and the previously reported Italian cases of pulmonary dirofilariasis were due to Dirofi-laria repens. We performed a systematic literature review of the Italian cases of human dirofilari-asis due to Dirofilaria immitis according to the PRISMA guidelines. We also report the first autoch-thonous case of human pulmonary dirofilariasis due to Dirofilaria immitis, confirmed by polymer-ase chain reaction analysis. The patient was a 60-year-old man who lived in the Po river valley and had never traveled abroad; on histological examination, the 2-cm nodule found in his right upper lung was an infarct due to a parasitic thrombotic lesion. Only one other autochthonous (but conjunctival) case due to Dirofilaria immitis (molecularly confirmed) was previously found in the same geographic area. Climatic changes, the increasing movements of animal reservoirs and vectors, and new competent carriers have expanded the geographic distribution of the Dirofilaria species, increasing the risk of human infections. Our report demonstrates that at least some pul-monary Italian cases of human dirofilariasis are due to Dirofilaria immitis, as in the New World.