Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bacterial ear microbiota differences in dogs with ear infections
By Korbelik, Juraj et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2019·Department of Pathobiology, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Characterization of the otic bacterial microbiota in dogs with otitis externa compared to healthy individuals.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 18 dogs with ear infections (otitis externa) had their ear bacteria analyzed and compared to 8 healthy dogs. The study found that the dogs with ear infections had a less diverse range of bacteria in their ears, meaning their ear microbiota was less healthy. Specific bacteria, like Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas, were more common in the infected dogs. This suggests that ear infections can significantly change the types of bacteria present in a dog's ear, which may help veterinarians understand and treat these infections better.
People also search for: dog ear infection treatment · why does my dog have ear problems · Staphylococcus in dogs ears
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Otitis externa is a common multifactorial disease in dogs. The diversity of the cutaneous microbiota in dogs appears to decrease in diseased states. However, little is known about the microbiota of the canine ear and how it is altered by disease. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To describe the otic bacterial microbiota in dogs with otitis externa compared to healthy dogs. ANIMALS: Samples were collected from 18 dogs with clinical and cytological evidence of otitis externa, and eight clinically normal dogs without cytological evidence of otitis externa. METHODS AND MATERIALS: DNA from each sample was isolated and Illuminasequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene amplicons was performed. Sequences were processed using the bioinformatics software MOTHUR. RESULTS: Bacteria from 27 different phyla were identified. Affected ears had significantly decreased alpha diversity when compared to healthy ears. Community structure and membership also differed between the two groups. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis identified 153 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were differentially abundant. Eleven OTUs were over-represented in the affected ears, including Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas and Parvimonas. CONCLUSIONS: The otic bacterial microbiota is much more complex than has been identified with previous culture-based studies; otitis externa is accompanied by broad and complex differences in the microbiota.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30828896/