Prevalence of dog erythrocyte antigen 1, determined via immunochromatography, in domestic dogs in Korea

ABSTRACT

Blood group determination in dogs is an important factor in transfusion medicine to minimize immediate or delayed adverse reactions after red blood cells transfusion in small animal clinics. Dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 1 is the most important blood type due to its high degree of antigenicity causing acute transfusion adverse reactions. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of DEA 1 in various dog breeds in Korea. As a result of testing 592 blood samples from more than 35 dog breeds, DEA 1 blood typing for each breed showed that 57.8% of Malteses, 63.3% of Poodles, 76.2% of Mastiff-like dogs, 72.5% of Pomeranians, 47.7% of Shih Tzus, 70.3% of mixed breeds, 60.0% of Yorkshire Terriers, and 71.4% of Beagles were DEA 1-positive. Miniature Schnauzers and Jindo breeds had a significantly high prevalence (100%) of DEA 1-positive dogs compared to that in other small breed dogs. This is the first report of immunochromatography-detected DEA 1 prevalence in various domestic dog breeds. Although additional studies need clarifying the potential blood transfusion risks in domestic breed dogs with DEA 1, the results of this study may be useful when selecting a blood donor.