88 (2) pp 103

Title: 
Allergy in dogs: a survey on veterinarians and owners about the situation in Flanders
Author(s): 
C. DEPESSEMIER, E. COX, M. PELST
Abstract: 

In human medicine, the prevalence of allergies has increased during the last decades. A similar tendencyis suspected in small animal veterinary medicine. Unfortunately, only little information is availableabout the prevalence of allergies in dogs in Flanders. In this study, veterinarians and owners wereasked about the five most common types of allergy, i.e. atopy, flea allergy, food allergy, contact allergyand allergy to medication and injections. The median prevalence, estimated by the veterinarians, wasrespectively 15%, 10%, 5%, 2% and 1%. Some remarkable differences with the literature were noticed.A blood test was mentioned by the owners as the most frequently used test to diagnose food allergies.Living in an urban environment could not be linked with an increased risk to develop allergies, and11% of the veterinarians reported washing-powder as a contact allergen. In the opinion of more thanhalf of the veterinarians, the number of dogs with an allergy has increased during his/her career.

Full text: 
pp 103-112
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