Immunoblot analysis revealed canine heartworm (
Dirofilaria immitis) infection in 19 cats (6.0%, 12 males and seven females) of among 315 domestic cats (136 males, 168 females and 11 unknown) in Yamaguchi Prefecture. No significant difference was observed based on the criteria of sex (
P=0.095), with males (12/136, 8.8%) and females (7/168, 4.2%), behavior (
P=0.594), with indoor only (5/90 cats, 5.6%) and both indoor and outdoor (11/199 cats, 5.5%), or age (
P=0.559), with<2 years old (5/117 cats, 4.3%), 3-6 years old (6/86 cats, 7.0%) and 7<years old (7/92 cats, 7.6%). Nor was a marked difference observed among the eastern (7/106 cats, 6.6%), central (6/123 cats, 4.9%), western (5/65 cats, 7.7%) and northern (1/11 cats, 9.1%) parts of Yamaguchi Prefecture.
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