Occurrence of allergic dermatitis in dogs with special reference to canine atopic dermatitis in Kerala

Allergic dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disease manifested as itchy skin rashes, caused as a result of hypersensitivity reactions elicited in the body due to exposure to various allergens. Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is a widespread skin condition characterized by an inherited propensity to develop pruritic inflammatory skin disease linked to IgE antibodies, which usually target environmental allergens. The study was conducted on 245 cases of allergic dermatitis in dogs presented to the small animal dermatology unit during the period from 2019 to 2021. Out of the total 2,032 dermatological cases in dogs presented to the clinics from different parts of Kerala, 245 cases were diagnosed as various allergies over a period of three years, and out of which, 63 cases were recorded as canine atopic dermatitis (CAD). All the 63 cases diagnosed as CAD were utilized for age-wise, gender-wise and breed-wise occurrence of disease. The occurrence of allergic dermatitis in the present study was recorded as 13 per cent. The highest occurrence rate recorded was that of flea allergy followed by atopic dermatitis, contact allergy dermatitis and food allergy. In the current study, higher incidence (66.7 per cent) of atopic dermatitis was found in dogs below 3 years of age, followed by dogs older than 5 years and of the age group >3 to 5 years. Gender-wise occurrence of atopic dermatitis revealed a male predominance with a sex ratio of 1.74: 1 in the present study. Labrador breed of dogs were more prone to atopic dermatitis followed by Beagle, Pomeranian, Shih Tzu, Pug, Pit bull, German Shepherd dog, Dachshund, Rottweiler and Golden Retriever.