Completed Grant No. 1840: Studies of the Host (Canine) Immune Response to the Opportunistic Pathogen Malassezia pachydermatis

Researcher: Daniel O. Morris, DVM, University of Pennsylvania

Program Area: Treatment

Sponsor(s): American Spaniel Club Health Foundation, Basset Hound Club of America, Inc., Dalmatian Club of America Foundation, Inc., English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association Foundation, Random Individuals, Westie Foundation of America, Inc.

Project Dates: 7/8/1999 to 1/14/2002

Grant Amount: $18,585.00

DCAF Funding: $500.

Abstract:

• This study confirmed that the immune system of allergic dogs recognizes a specific yeast as a contributor to allergies that the dog’s body is mounting an allergic response to the yeast, not just reacting to a yeast infection. The yeast, Malassezia pachydermatis, is present in many dogs with skin allergies, causing itching, infection and sometimes licking to the point of self-mutilation. The most common symptoms of the yeast are ear canal infections and paw licking. Dogs with the yeast allergy can react to a quantity of yeast that would be considered within normal limits for healthy dogs. This discovery provides evidence and hope that it might be possible to manage that allergic reaction through the development of yeast-specific allergy shots, rather than relying on anti-fungal medications, which carry a possibility of side effects and don’t stop the allergic reaction from recurring.