Search

Objectives Several companies offer saliva and/or hair tests for food and environmental allergies in companion animals, but provide no validation of test accuracy. We examined one such hair and saliva allergy test to determine whether it could reliably differentiate between a normal dog and an allergic dog, and to examine test repeatability. Materials and methods Ten fur and saliva samples were submitted from a known allergic dog and a normal, non-allergic dog. Five fake fur samples and water were also submitted to determine whether the test could differentiate between a real dog and toy animal. The company performed testing for 128 food and environmental allergens. Statistical analyses were performed to determine whether the response distribution differed significantly between dogs, using the Pearson chi-square coefficient, as well as to determine test-retest reliability by calculating Cohen's kappa for each allergen. Results The distribution of test results from samples obtained from allergic, non-allergic or fake dogs was not different from that expected due to random chance. Test-retest reproducibility was poor to slight. Clinical significance Hair and saliva testing should not be used to diagnose allergies and is not a substitute for veterinary-directed allergy evaluation and diagnostics.

Background The central premise for the commercialization of diets with hydrolyzed ingredients is that the small-sized digested peptides would be unable to crosslink allergen-specific IgE at the surface of tissue mast cells and induce their degranulation. Evidence for the validity of this concept to diagnose food allergies in dogs and cats is limited, however. Our objectives were to study the recognition of standard and variably hydrolyzed poultry extracts by sera from dogs and cats with elevated chicken-specific serum IgE. Results Forty sera from dogs and 40 from cats with undetectable, low, medium or high serum levels of chicken-specific IgE were tested by ELISA on plates coated with the positive controls chicken, duck and turkey meat extracts and the negative controls beef meat (dogs) or wheat (cats). Plates were also coated with a non-hydrolyzed chicken meal, and mildly- or extensively-hydrolyzed poultry feather extracts. The frequencies of dogs with positive IgE against the various extracts were: chicken meat: 100%, duck and turkey meats: 97%, beef meat: 3%, non-hydrolyzed chicken meal: 73%, mildly-hydrolyzed poultry feathers: 37% and extensively-hydrolyzed poultry feathers: 0%. For cats, these respective percentages were (with wheat replacing beef as a negative control): 100, 84, 97, 7, 7, 0 and 0%. To detect any allergenic cross-reactivity between poultry meat-based and feather hydrolysate-derived extracts, an IgE ELISA inhibition was also done. Ten canine sera with the highest level of anti-poultry IgE in the previous experiment were incubated overnight with a previously optimized 50 μg amount of each of the extracts used above. We performed ELISA on plates coated with chicken, duck or turkey meats with or without inhibitors. The median inhibition percentages after incubation with the non-hydrolyzed chicken meal were ~22%, with the mildly-hydrolyzed poultry feathers: 14–22%, and those with the extensively-hydrolyzed poultry feathers: 5 to 10%; the last inhibition level was similar to that of the beef meat negative control. Conclusions Altogether, these results suggest that an extensive—but not partial—hydrolyzation of the poultry feather extract is necessary to prevent the recognition of allergenic epitopes by poultry-specific IgE. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-017-1183-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Food allergy is defined as a pruritic dermatitis which is indicated by allergic reactions to food components. Due to its excessive incidence of clinical signs it is necessary to determine the correct diagnosis, provide sufficient control and long term management to achieve comfortable way of life for an animal. In case of very intensive pruritus there are usually used in common medicine glucocorticoids, antihistamincs and inhibitors of Janus kinase but there are also other alternatives such as bioresonance, homeopathy, phytotherapy, acupuncture, etc. that have also very beneficial and curative effect in case of food allergy. Diagnostics and therapy by bioresonance are alternative methods used in modern medicine that was discovered as a combination of quantum physics and Traditional Chinese Medicine. We can use it for various types of acute and chronic diseases without any invasive intervention into the body. There have been positive results in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies in dogs, which are nowadays constantly increased, and that have been one of the most common causes of dermatological and gastrointestinal diseases.

Background Dogs with year-round atopic dermatitis are often sensitized to Dermatophagoides house dust mites (HDM). Storage mites (SM) are known to grow on cereal-rich foods. Tyrophagus SM can exacerbate clinical signs of allergy in laboratory dogs sensitized to HDM. Consequently, atopic dogs with high-levels of HDM-specific IgE are likely to have a flare of signs after eating a food contaminated with SM; the development of such flares would lead to a false positive diagnosis of food allergy. Herein, we reviewed the published evidence about the growth of SM on commercial dry pet foods. Results We searched two databases on January 25, 2019 for articles providing original information on the growth of SM on commercial dog foods. We found ten articles, five reporting results of laboratory experiments and five from field studies. Storage mites, especially Tyrophagus putrescentiae, can multiply on protein- and fat-rich dog foods. The population growth is higher when the initial mite density is high and when kibbles are crushed. When storage conditions lead to the overgrowth of molds on the kibbles, the mite proliferation is higher. Storage mites do not bore holes in food packages but invade bags via defective seals. In the field, SM contamination usually is undetectable in newly-opened commercial dog foods, and, if present, their number is low. When newly-purchased bags are stored in temperate conditions indoors, little overgrowth—if any—of SM occurs. However, when kept in environmental conditions with higher temperature and humidity, Tyrophagus mites will enter and proliferate in sealed food packages. Conclusions Commercial dry pet foods should be kept indoors and sealed to decrease the risk of contamination with SM. When performing dietary restriction (elimination) and provocation trials for the diagnosis of food allergies in dogs, it seems preferable to choose newly-purchased bags—of both original and testing diets—to reduce the probability of their contamination with SM, especially Tyrophagus putrescentiae. In case of doubt about the presence of SM in any of these foods, one should perform food challenges with single home-cooked ingredients. Storage mite contamination might lead to an erroneous diagnosis of food allergy in HDM-sensitized dogs.

PRURITUS is an extremely frequent presenting sign in dogs and cats and is most commonly caused by ectoparasites, infectious agents, such as bacteria and fungi, and allergies. The normal approach when investigating animals with pruritus is to rule out parasitic and infectious causes first. After this has been done, veterinary surgeons often make a tentative diagnosis of allergy. However, to establish a definitive diagnosis that allows successful long-term management, it is often necessary to determine whether the animal is suffering from a food allergy, atopic dermatitis or a combination of the two. These conditions are clinically indistinguishable and atopic dermatitis can only be definitively diagnosed after food allergy has been ruled out. It is therefore important that a rigorous and logical diagnostic approach is applied when attempting to diagnose food allergy. This article discusses the many problems and pitfalls which need to be considered before a successful outcome can be expected.

Food allergy includes an overreaction of the immune system to certain foods or substances that trigger the immune system become confused. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral administration of plantain leaf extract on immunity against food allergies in dogs. This study performed on 12 dogs and the dogs were divided into 3 groups. In 3 groups, 2 times a day for 5 days 10Grmy turmeric tablet was administered to food allergies occur in all categories. To first group twice daily, for 5 days, in each time 100cc oral plantain extract administered. In second group, prednisolone acetate used instead of plantain extract for 5 days (according to the dose of 2 mg/kg every 24 hours). And in third group (control) no medication used. Blood samples took for hematology and immunology experiments at days 0, 5 and 10 and the amount of blood was divided into two equal parts, and for hematology tests and to measure IgE immune factors and percentage and number of phagocytosis was sent to faculty lab. The result showed that in three groups comparison, during the recovery (post- treatment) Eos, IgE and Germ amount in Leaf extract group has no significant change in appropriation to control group. The amount of these factors in comparison with the Corton group had significant change (p

De laatste decennia is de prevalentie van allergieën in de humane geneeskunde toegenomen. Bij gezelschapsdieren wordt een gelijkaardige trend vermoed. Er is echter weinig bekend over de mate van voorkomen van allergieën bij de hond in Vlaanderen. In de voorliggende studie werden dierenartsen en eigenaars via een enquête bevraagd over de vijf meest voorkomende types allergie, i.e. atopie, vlooienallergie, voedselallergie, contactallergie en allergie voor medicatie en injecties. De door dierenartsen geschatte mediane prevalentie was respectievelijk 15%, 10%, 5%, 2% en 1%. Er werden enkele opvallende verschillen waargenomen met de literatuur. Eigenaars vermeldden een bloedtest als meest gebruikte test voor de diagnose van voedselallergie. Leven in een stedelijke omgeving kon niet in verband worden gebracht met een verhoogd risico op allergie en 11% van de dierenartsen meldde waspoeder als contactallergeen. Meer dan de helft van de dierenartsen meent dat het aantal allergische honden in de loop van zijn/haar carrière is toegenomen.