From fieldwork to publication on Springer Nature: Vietnamese data in global heartworm genome research

Dr Bui Thi Dung in the laboratory

From field data to a global heartworm genome map

In 2023, under the framework of project IEBR ĐT.08-23, Dr Bui Thi Dung selected Van Yen District, Yen Bai Province (now Lao Cai Province) as the survey site for parasitic helminth diversity in dogs and cats - an area where no formal studies had previously been conducted. Due to the lack of baseline data, the team had to visit individual households and slaughterhouses to conduct dissections, collect samples, take measurements, photograph specimens, and classify them based on morphological characteristics and specialised taxonomic keys.

The results showed that 100% of the dogs and cats examined were infected with worms or flukes. In dogs, hookworms and tapeworms were the most common; in cats, additional species such as liver flukes and thorny-headed worms were recorded - species with zoonotic potential. Notably, for the first time in Vietnam, three parasitic species were identified in cats: the tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum, Taenia taeniaeformis, and a thorny - headed worm species belonging to the family Polymorphidae. Among the eight species detected, seven have the potential to infect humans, associated with diseases such as hepatitis, anaemia, organ damage and liver cancer.

Images of parasitic worms in dogs and cats in Yen Bai Province (now Lao Cai Province)

An interdisciplinary approach to heartworm population genomics research

From the field sample set, Dr Bui Thi Dung expanded collaboration with scientists from Australia, the U.S, Europe and Asia, particularly with Prof. Jan Slapeta and PhD candidate Rosemonde L. Power (University of Sydney, Australia), to study the heartworm Dirofilaria immitis. Species of the genus Dirofilaria cause heart disease in dogs and can also lead to cardiopulmonary disease in humans; mosquitoes act as vectors transmitting the parasite.

Life cycle of species of the genus Dirofilaria (Source: https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/dirofilariasis/index.html)

Dr Bui Thi Dung (left) and PhD candidate Rosemonde L. Power, University of Sydney, Australia

In the international publication “Population genomics reveals an ancient origin of heartworms in canids” in Communications Biology (Nature Portfolio – Springer Nature), the research team analysed the entire genomes of 127 heartworm samples from nine countries across four continents. The data enabled the reconstruction of the evolutionary history and global transmission pathways of this parasite.

Heartworms parasitising dogs (Photo: Prof. Jan Slapeta, University of Sydney, Australia)

The findings indicate that heartworms have an ancient origin, diverging approximately 25 million years ago, rather than spreading only recently through the movement of domestic dogs. Genetic analysis also revealed a close relationship between heartworm populations in Australia and Asia, suggesting that they may have arrived in Australia with dingo dogs around 4,000 years ago. In this context, data from Vietnam played an important role in reconstructing transcontinental transmission routes.

In Vietnam, Dr Bui Thi Dung, together with Assoc. Prof. Dr Do Ngoc Anh (Military Medical Academy), participated in sample collection, morphological identification and quality control, ensuring reliability before integration into global genomic analyses, including rare heartworm lineages in Southeast Asia.

The study contributes to clarifying the diversity of parasites in humans and animals living in close proximity in Vietnam, highlighting the link between parasitology and public health. From field expeditions to publication within the Nature system, the journey of Dr Bui Thi Dung demonstrates that local data, when standardised and analysed using modern methods, can contribute to scientific questions of international significance, affirming the position of Vietnamese data in global research.

The full scientific article is available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-09250-x

Translated by Tuyet Nhung
Link to Vietnamese version