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Prevalence of Setaria equina microfilaraemia in horses in Hungary

¹ Department of Parasitology and Zoology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, István u 2, 1078 Budapest, Hungary
² Dipartimento di Patologia Animale, Igiene e Salute Publica Veterinaria, Università degli Studi, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy

Peripheral blood samples were collected randomly from 195 horses in various parts of Hungary, and the presence of microfilariae was evaluated by the Knott technique. On the basis of morphological identification 18 of the horses (9·2 per cent) were infected with Setaria equina, and the infection was confirmed in 10 animals by PCR and sequencing. The level of microfilaraemia was between 1 and 1138 larvae in 2 ml of blood. There was no correlation between the time of sampling or the sex of the animals (stallions versus mares) and the prevalence of infection, but the prevalence decreased with age. There was a significant association between the prevalence of microfilaraemia and the presence of still waters; positive samples were collected either in the region of Lake Balaton, the largest lake in the country, or at places with nearby ponds.