45 research outputs found

    Study of the chemical and nutritional characteristics of commercial dog foods used as elimination diet for the diagnosis of canine food allergy

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    "Hypoallergenic" pet foods are commercial dietary products for dogs and cats used as elimination diets for the diagnosis of adverse food reactions. Aim of this study was to compare chemical and nutritional characteristics of this kind of dog foods with regular maintenance diets. Twenty-nine dry pet foods (pellets) were collected and divided into classes on the basis of the type (H: hypoallergenic; R: regular), source of fat (with or without fish oil) and source of protein (with or without fish protein) used in their composition. Labels of the H pet foods identified 8 products (44%) with one protein in their formula, suggesting that only few commercial manufacturers concern about the number of protein sources included in their products. Samples of the two groups showed different chemical profiles with lower levels of protein, gross energy, phosphorus and better fatty acid profile (expressed as % of total fatty acids) for H products in comparison to R foods: PUFA, 38.91 vs 24.03, P<0.01; ω3, 5.70 vs 2.58, P<0.01; ω6, 33.22 vs 21.63, P<0.01; DHA, 2.85 vs 0.16, P<0.05; CLA, 0.24 vs 0.08, P<0.05, for H and R respectively. This study suggests that the differences observed in the fatty acids composition may be attributed to fish proteins addition, but not to fish oil, in H pet foods production

    Evaluation of pet animals involved in assisted interventions (AAI) as potential carriers of bacteria resistant to antimicrobials: Preliminary data

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    open8noopenDotto, G.; Pasotto, D.; Poser, H.; Menandro, M.L.; Berlanda, M.; Falomo, M.E.; Mondin, A.; Martini, M.Dotto, Giorgia; Pasotto, Daniela; Poser, Helen; Menandro, MARIA LUISA; Berlanda, Michele; Falomo, MARIA ELENA; Mondin, Alessandra; Martini, Marc

    Survey of Methicillin-resistant coagulase positive Staphylococcus spp. carriage in healthy dogs and dogs with skin disease

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    Canine skin diseases (SD) are very common in the veterinary practice and are often complicated by recurrent bacterial infection. Affected dogs usually need multiple cycles of antibiotic treatments (AT) that can lead to development of multidrug resistant strains [1]. Coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS) are the most often isolated pathogens from canine SD. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of multidrug and methicillin resistant coagulase-positive staphylococci (MRScp) isolated from healthy dogs and dogs with SD, and to evaluate the correlation with clinical scores and previous AT. Forty-nine dogs were enrolled: 25 healthy and 24 with SD. Clinical history and previous AT were recorded. After a complete physical examination, clinical scores (CADESI-3 and pruritus) were calculated. Skin swabs from mouth, ear, genitalia, axilla and skin lesions, when present, were cultured in a nutrient and in a selective medium for MRScp. Suspected Staphylococcus colonies were identified by Maldi-Tof MS and specific PCR; methicillin resistance was confirmed by a PCR targeting mecA gene. Susceptibility tests and genetic typing, including spa-typing, SCCmec-typing and MLST were performed on isolates. Normal distribution of data was tested with Shapiro-Wilk test. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and z-test if normally distributed, otherwise with Mann-Whitney Test. Correlations between bacterial resistance and clinical scores or previous AT were assessed by Spearman test. P-value <0.05 was considered significant. Ninety-five strains of CPS were isolated from 229 samples. A total of 13/95 strains were MRScp and were identified as Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Among them, 10 were multidrug resistant and two were isolated from healthy dogs. The Sequence Type 71, spa-type t02 e SCCmec type II-III, which represents the main clonal strain in Europe [2], was the most frequently identified genetic type (11/13) also in this study. Staphylococci were more commonly isolated from axilla, genitalia and ear conduct of dogs with SD compared with healthy dogs (p<0.001). Four out of the 6 MRScp positive dogs had received AT in the previous 6 months. No significant correlations between clinical scores or previous AT and methicillin resistance was found. Although the low number of dogs included in the study could have affected the results of the investigated correlations, this study confirms the role of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in canine pyoderma and shows that pet dogs may play a significant role as MRScp carriers. Furthermore, close attention should be also paid also to the control of healthy dogs

    Evaluation of the Impact of Near-Infrared Multiwavelength Locked System Laser Therapy on Skin Microbiome in Atopic Dogs

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    Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a newly adopted consensus term to replace the therapeutic application of low-level laser therapy. It has been suggested that PMB influences the microbiome which, in turn, has increasingly been shown to be linked with health and disease. Even though the use of PBM has also grown dramatically in veterinary medicine, there is still a lack of evidence supporting its effect in vivo. Our objective was to investigate the impact of a dual-wavelength near-infrared laser source (Multiwavelength Locked Laser System, MLS®) on the skin microbiome in atopic dogs. Twenty adult-client-owned atopic dogs were enrolled in the study. The dogs were treated with MLS® laser therapy on one half of the abdominal region, whereas the contralateral side was left untreated and served as a control. Skin microbiome samples were collected before and after MLS® treatments, and then subjected to NGS-based ITS and 16S rRNA analysis. The results showed that while microbiome composition and diversity were not significantly affected, PBM could play a role in modulating the abundance of specific bacterial species, in particular Staphylococcus, that represent a major skin pathogenic strain. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the potential impact of MLS® laser therapy on the skin microbiome in atopic dogs

    Efficacy of milbemycin oxime/afoxolaner chewable tablets (NEXGARD SPECTRA®) against Capillaria aerophila and Capillaria boehmi in naturally infected dogs

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    BACKGROUND: Capillaria aerophila and Capillaria boehmi parasitize the respiratory system of wild and domestic carnivores. Capillaria aerophila inhabits the trachea and bronchi of dogs and cats, while C. boehmi affects the nasal cavities and sinuses of dogs. In dogs the infection may be subclinical or characterized by varying respiratory distress.METHODS: The present study evaluated the efficacyof an oral formulation containing milbemycin oxime and afoxolaner (NEXGARD SPECTRA) in dogs naturally infected with C. aerophila and/or C. boehmi from three enzootic areas of Italy. Dogs were enrolled pending fecal examination and molecular confirmation of respiratory capillarioses. Dogs were allocated in two groups: Group 1 (G1, 25 dogs), treated with a negative control product with no anthelmintic activity (afoxolaner, NEXGARD), and Group 2 (G2, 26 dogs), treated with NEXGARD SPECTRA. At the day of treatment administration (Day 0), all dogs were clinically examined. Dogs were again subjected to clinical and fecal examinations at Days 28 (±4) and 56 (±2). The primary criterion for treatment efficacy was the reduction of fecal Capillaria egg counts in G2 compared with G1. The regression of/recovery from baseline clinical signs was considered as a further efficacy criterion.RESULTS: Percentage reduction of fecal Capillaria egg counts in the NEXGARD SPECTRA group compared to the control group was &gt;97% on Day 28 and 100% on Day 56, respectively (p&lt;0.05 for both time points). Twelve of the 13 dogs in the NEXGARD SPECTRA group with respiratory signs prior to treatment were free of clinical signs at the end of the study. Conversely, the six control group dogs with respiratory signs prior to treatment remained symptomatic.CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present study showed that NEXGARD SPECTRA was safe and highly efficacious in the reduction of C. aerophila and C. boehmi eggs after one treatment with a complete reduction of the egg output after the second administration associated with a recovery from respiratory signs
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