classified as a heartworm, for similarity of clinical manifestations
and parasitological diagnosis (Traversa et al.,
2010; http://www.esccap.org), A. vasorum was inserted in
the lungworm group. Hookworm third stage larvae (L3)
obtained from faecal cultures were identified at the species
level on the basis of their morphology (Levine, 1968).
A commercial rapid immunoassay (RIDAQUICK® Cryptosporidium/
Giardia Combi cassettes, R-Biopharm Italia srl)
was used to detect Giardia and Cryptosporidium faecal
antigens. Specific molecular assays for the genotyping of
Giardia and Cryptosporidium were performed only on samples
resulted positive to this test.