Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common is Demodex canis in healthy dogs' skin?
By Fondati, Alessandra et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2010·Centro Veterinario Prati, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of Demodex canis-positive healthy dogs at trichoscopic examination.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at 78 healthy dogs to see if they had a skin mite called Demodex canis, which is usually found in small numbers on dogs' skin. The dogs had no skin problems, and samples were taken from different areas of their skin. The researchers found no Demodex canis mites at all, and only one dog had a different type of mite. This suggests that while some healthy dogs might carry a tiny number of these mites, it's quite rare, and finding them doesn't mean the dog is healthy.
People also search for: dog skin mites · healthy dog skin problems · Demodex canis in dogs · dog skin examination · why does my dog have skin mites
Abstract
Demodex canis is thought to be present in small numbers in the skin of most healthy dogs; however, available data on the prevalence of normal dogs harbouring D. canis are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate, using microscopic examination of plucked hairs, the prevalence of healthy dogs harbouring D. canis. Seventy-eight clinically healthy dogs with no history of dermatological problems and clinically normal skin and hair coat were included in the study. Five areas (perioral skin 2-3mm from both labial commissures, periungual skin of the third digit of both anterior paws and chin) were examined in each dog. Fifty to sixty hairs were plucked from each skin site and microscopically examined. No D. canis mites were observed and only one adult form of Demodex injai was found in the labial commissure of one dog. Based on these results, the estimated prevalence of healthy dogs harbouring D. canis in clinically normal skin should not exceed the threshold of 5.4%, with 95% confidence level. Considering our and previous findings, we propose that, although small numbers of D. canis might inhabit the skin of normal dogs, the probability of finding these mites in normal dogs is low. Consequently, in most cases, the presence of a D. canis mite in the skin should not be considered as indicative of normality.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19706007/