Otitis externa is a multifactorial disease that has 5 to 20 percent prevalence in small animal medicine which can be diagnosed according to the history and general dermatological and otoscopic examinations. This study aimed to compare the agents that cause Otitis externa in dogs and cats, taking into account the breeds, gender, and age differences of these animals. The samples were taken from 63 dogs and cats that were suspected of having external ear infections and referred to veterinary clinics from north of Iran, including Mazandaran, Guilan, and Golestan provinces, within 24 months (from April 2019 to April 2021). After obtaining the consent, sampling was performed from the pinna and the end of the vertical ear canal. The prevalence of infection observed in dogs was: 28.57% for Malassezia, 28.57% for gram-positive bacteria, 11.91% gram-negative bacteria, 16.67% and 14.28% for Otobius megnini and Sarcoptes scabiei respectively, while in cats, the prevalence of Malassezia infections was 9.52%, 23.80% gram-positive bacteria, 19.04% gram-negative bacteria, 19.04% Otobius megnini, and 33.34% Notoedres cati. There was no statistically significant difference between the studied dogs and cats with the variables of age, gender, and breed. Identifying the agents causing external ear infections and paying attention to factors such as etiologies, geographical effects, region climate, disease-causing agents, breed differences, gender, and age in Iran is crucial and can improve the rate of success in management and treatment of external ear infections. Therefore, it seems that due to the limited number of these studies in Iran, additional studies in this field are necessary. Among dogs and cats in the north of Iran, this study represents the first assessment of external otitis.

Skin is an organ of living beings afflicted with various disorders such as atopic disease. Atopic disease results from an excess of immunoglobulin E produced due to excessive exposure to non-harmful environmental allergens that affect the skin of various organs, including the ear, leading to external otitis. During this case-control study, 50 dogs referred to clinics in Mazandaran province in Iran with symptoms of atopic otitis were the case group, and 50 dogs with healthy ears were considered the control group. The diagnosis was derived from the clinical findings of the case group, which included itchy skin, redness in the pubic and abdominal area, and ear swelling. The results indicated that 66% of dogs with atopic otitis were in the chronic stage of the disease. Furthermore, there is 4.63 times greater odds of wax secretions in cases of atopic otitis. Additionally, in the case of atopic otitis, the odds of odorous secretions is 5.1 times greater than that of odorless secretions. Lastly, most dogs with this condition had significantly dark ear secretions. Atopic otitis, therefore, is characterized by waxy, odorous and dark secretions in the ears of animals. In general, identifying the causative agent for this disease in dogs is extremely important and can prevent the application of costly and blind treatments. We conducted the first epidemiological study in Iran of external otitis associated with atopy in dogs. These results support a better understanding of the disease.

No abstract