Use of milbemycin oxime in the treatment of dogs with nasal mite (Pneumonyssoides caninum) infection.

Clinical diagnosis of canine nasal mite (Pneumonyssoides caninum) infection is difficult due to the mite's location in the caudal nasal cavity and frontal sinuses. The current study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of milbemycin oxime in treating dogs with nasal mite infection. A prospective open uncontrolled study included 20 dogs with case histories indicating possible nasal mite infection. Inclusion criteria consisted of either nasal mites being demonstrated (group 1, four dogs), or suspicious clinical signs with no other apparent causes, combined with eosinophilia (group 2, 16 dogs). Milbemycin oxime 1 mg/kg was given orally three times at 10-day intervals. In 17 (85 per cent) dogs, clinical signs resolved completely following milbemycin therapy; within 10 days of the first treatment in 13 cases (group 1, four dogs; group 2, nine dogs) and within 14 days in four cases. In the remaining three dogs clinical signs persisted but were diminished.

Oral eosinophilic granuloma in three cavalier King Charles spaniels.

Oral eosinophilic granuloma is a rare and enigmatic disease in dogs. The clinical, haematological, cytological and histopathological features of three unrelated Cavalier King Charles spaniels with oral ulcers are presented. The disease was characterised by granuloma or plaque formation in the oral cavity. Common clinical signs were clearing the throat, swallowing problems, coughing during and after meals, reduced appetite and difficulty in eating. Haematological findings were not specific. Cytology was considered easier to perform than tissue biopsy due to friability of the tissue, but could not be used to confirm a granuloma diagnosis. The diagnosis of oral eosinophilic granuloma was verified histopathologically in each case. Response to glucocorticoid therapy varied, from complete remission to lack of any visible effect, leading to a guarded prognosis. The aetiology of the disease was not determined; however, the gross and microscopic morphologies of the lesions, their location and the response to corticosteroid therapy was suggestive of hypersensitivity.

The antimicrobial susceptibility of Staphylococcus species isolated from canine dermatitis.

In a retrospective study, 1538 strains of beta-haemolysin-producing Staphylococcus species isolated from dermatitis in dogs at three veterinary clinical microbiology laboratories in Norway during 1986-87 and 1993-94 were investigated for their antimicrobial susceptibility. None of the strains was resistant to cloxacillin, cephalexin or the quinolones enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. More than 96% of the strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulphonamide, bacitracin and fucidic acid. Between 67% and 89% of the strains were susceptible to erythromycin, lincosamides, tetracycline, neomycin and chloramphenicol. Only 37.9% of the strains were susceptible to penicillin. The frequency of penicillin resistance increased significantly between the first and second periods, from 46.0% to 58.6%. The frequency of resistance to lincomycin, clindamycin and erythromycin also increased significantly between the first and second periods, from 3.0%, 2.1% and 3.3% to 25.5%, 19.5% and 24.8%, respectively. A moderate increase in resistance to tetracycline was also noted, from 20.4% in the first to 27.6% in the second period. On the other hand, the frequency of resistance to trimethoprim-sulphonamide decreased significantly from 4.1% in the first to 0.9% in the second period. Many different resistance patterns were observed in each period. However, the proportion of multiresistant strains increased from 2.1% in the first to 10.2% in the second period. There was a decrease in resistance to the combination of trimethoprim-sulphonamide and penicillin from the first to the second period. Resistance to the combination of lincosamides and penicillin increased. For the combinations penicillin-tetracycline-lincosamides, penicillin-lincosamides-erythromycin, and penicillin-tetracycline-lincosamides-erythromycin, there was a striking increase in resistance between the first and the second periods.

Malassezia pachydermatis with special reference to canine skin disease.

A review of the diseases caused by Malassezia pachydermatis has led to the conclusion that the yeast is an opportunistic pathogen that depends on predisposing host factors and different immune suppressive mechanisms for clinical manifestation. Until recently, the role of M. pachydermatis in seborrhoeic dermatitis and otitis externa in dogs has been largely unrecognized. The clinical manifestation, aetiology, diagnosis and treatment of disease conditions in dogs caused by M. pachydermatis are reviewed. Human Malassezia furfur infections are briefly described.

Immediate type hypersensitivity in dogs induced by storage mites.

Results of intradermal skin tests on 53 dogs, employing storage mite extracts as antigen, indicated that storage mite allergy is fairly common. Only four of 29 dogs exhibiting no allergic symptoms showed skin reactions to the most common storage mite, Acarus siro, whereas 18 out of 24 dogs with symptoms assumed to be associated with allergy showed such reactions. The passive cutaneous transfer test revealed that an immediate type hypersensitivity reaction was involved.

Atopic dermatitis in Norwegian dogs.

Of 122 dogs showing clinical symptoms of atopic dermatitis, 65.6% exhibited immediate skin test reactivity to one or more well defined allergen extracts, when intradermal skin tests were performed. The Prausnitz-Küstner test performed on two non-atopic recipient dogs, with serum from affected dogs, showed that "reaginic" antibodies transferred in serum from all affected dogs remained bound within the skin of the recipient dogs for 192 hours. House dust, house dust mite (D. farinae) and human dander were the allergens which most commonly caused immediate skin reactions and West Highland White Terriers and Boxers were the most affected breeds. Age at onset of clinical symptoms proved to be 1-4 year in 72.2% of the dogs.