Characterization of pruritus in canine atopic dermatitis, flea bite hypersensitivity and flea infestation and its role in diagnosis

Abstract

Some features of pruritus could be suggestive of the causal disease, with possible diagnostic value in pruritic dogs.

Perianal pruritus in dogs with skin disease

“…We found perianal pruritus in 52% of dogs with CAD; this percentage is comparable to a previous study, which described pruritus in the genital/ventral tail area in 45.8% of dogs with nonfood‐induced atopic dermatitis . Another study reported complete absence of pruritus on the medial/caudal thigh/perineal area in 475 dogs with CAD, stating that the presence of primary pruritus localized in these areas can be used to exclude CAD with 100% sensitivity . Likewise, another study reported that none of 37 pruritic dogs with diagnoses of atopy, flea allergic dermatitis and nonallergic diseases had perianal pruritus .…”

“…Likewise, another study reported that none of 37 pruritic dogs with diagnoses of atopy, flea allergic dermatitis and nonallergic diseases had perianal pruritus . The large difference in the prevalence of perianal pruritus reported by the latter two studies compared with our findings and those of Favrot et al . could be due to different selection criteria for the study population or different collection modalities of historical and clinical parameters.…”

“…In contrast to the extensive literature describing pruritus ani in humans, little attention has been paid to it in dogs. In this species, it has been described in association with allergies, anal sac disorders and tapeworm infestation …”

“…Previous studies have reported perianal pruritus in 100% of dogs with anal sac disease compared with 0% in healthy dogs and in dogs with colitis . Pruritus in the perianal region in dogs is frequently reported in association with adverse food reactions (AFRs) and with flea infestation and flea bite hypersensitivity (FBH) . Pruritus of the genitalia and ventral tail has been reported to be common in canine atopic dermatitis (CAD), while in another study perianal pruritus was not observed in any of 475 atopic dogs .…”

Onset of efficacy and residual speed of kill over one month of a topical dinotefuran-permethrin-pyriproxyfen combination (Vectra®3D) against the adult cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis felis) on dogs

“…On human skin, each probing induces visible lesions and pruritic wheals that can occur in clusters (Bitam et al, 2010). In dogs, flea bites can induce hypersensitivity reactions associated with typical dermatological conditions (Bruet et al, 2012). C. felis is considered to be a vector of several pathogens: viruses such as calicivirus (Mencke et al, 2009), bacteria such as Rickettsia felis (Capelli et al, 2009) and Bartonella (Bouhsira et al, 2012), and helminths such as Dipylidium caninum (Hinaidy, 1991).…”