COMPARISON OF 2 DIAGNOSTIC-TESTS FOR CANINE ATOPY USING MONOCLONAL ANTI-IGE ANTIBODIES

In 66 dogs of various races consulting the veterinary clinic for skin problems suspicious of atopic dermatitis, parallel skin tests with two commercial brands of allergens and serological tests with the CMG IMM UNODOT system and with an ELISA assay using monoclonal anti-IgE antibo dies were performed. The most frequent sensitivities found were toward s house dust (44%) and storage mites (50%). Depending upon the cut-off point chosen, the CMG IMMUNODOT test was shown to have sensitivity, i n respect to the skin test, varying from 54 to 100%, in an inverse rel ationship to specificity. The ELISA assay was found to be slightly les s sensitive. These investigations also revealed some major discrepanci es in skin test results among allergen extracts of different origins, confirming that skin test results should no longer be considered as th e sole 'gold standard' in diagnosis of IgE-mediated allergy. The exper ience gained confirms that modern serological tests using monoclonal a nti-IgE antibodies for detection of allergen-specific IgEs in the dog are useful in the diagnosis of dog allergy.