Though the parasite is often (wrongly) considered to be
harmless for canine patients, treatment and control of the
infection is pivotal not only to minimize the possibilities for
symptomatic infections in dogs but also to reduce the risk
of transmission to humans. In fact, human beings become
infected via the bites of infected mosquitoes and culicid
vectors are ubiquitous even with high percentage of Dirofilaria
infection in endemic areas. Therefore, the most reliable
method to control subcutaneous filariosis is the elimination
of circulating MF in infected dogs in order to interrupt
their transmission to the vectors during blood meals.