Sessions

CAD (canine atopic dermatitis) is defined as " a hereditary, typically pruritic and predominantly T‐cell driven inflammatory skin disease involving interplay between skin barrier abnormalities, allergen sensitization and microbial dysbiosis”. After diagnosis, an environmental allergen test can be performed, the results of which are used to plan the only available causal treatment, allergen-specific immunotherapy.

The aim of the research is to obtain a comprehensive picture of the prevalence of cAD in Hungary, the population of affected dogs, and the most common allergens.

We examined the Polycheck® results for 19 allergens from the blood of 1930 dogs living in Hungary between 2009 and 2025. A dog is considered sensitive to a given allergen if the allergen-specific IgE concentration reaches 0.5 kU/l. Statistical analysis was performed using version 0.95.3 of the JASP program.

The allergens that elicited the most common positive reactions were D. farinae / "American" house dust mite (92.3%), D. pteronyssinus / "European" house dust mite (66.6%), Malassezia pachydermatis (61.7%), T. putrescentiae / copra mite (58.3%) and A. siro / flour mite (49.1%).

In the population we studied, the most common breeds were French Bulldogs (9.38%), Staffordshire Bullterriers (4.77%), Labrador Retrievers (4.4%), West Highland White Terriers (3.89%), and Yorkshire Terriers (3.58%). Compared to the Hungarian dog population, French Bulldogs, Staffordshire Bullterriers, Labrador Retrievers, West Highland White Terriers, Bichon Havanese, and Hungarian Vizslas, pumi, Transylvanian hound were overrepresented.

In the case of the most common allergens, a significant difference can be observed between the reactions of Labrador retrievers and French bulldogs to D. farinae, and between the reactions of French bulldogs and West Highland white terriers to Malassezia pachydermatis.

Between January 2010 and December 2024, most tests were performed in the fall (554) and the fewest in the summer (411). Of the 19 allergens included in the test, the highest number of positive results were obtained during the tests, which were carried out in the autumn, with an average of 6.57 allergens per test, compared to 6.15 in summer, 5.99 in winter, and only 5.55 in spring. In the case of seasonal allergens, the highest number of positive reactions was also seen in autumn, with an average of 2.41, and the lowest in spring, with 1.54. Non-seasonal allergens varied within a narrower range, with less variation between the highest autumn (4.16) and lowest summer (4.01) values.

The varying prevalence of the species confirms that genetic predisposition plays a role in cAD. Several countries have confirmed that D. farinae produces more positive reactions than D. pteronyssinus, which has also been confirmed in Hungary. The frequency of positive tests in certain seasons can provide a basis for planning the timing of blood sampling.