Epidemiological Studies on Staphylococcal Otitis in Dogs at Jabalpur, India

Ear affections are one of the most common conditions prevalent in canine practice and have a worldwide distribution. Inflammation of external, middle and inner ear are referred as otitis externa, otitis media and otitis interna, respectively and is reported to be the most frequent canine infectious disease over the past decades. The present study was undertaken to investigate the epidemiological study of Staphylococcal otitis in dogs. A total of 2420 dogs from May to October-2024 were screened for the study. Among them, 106 dogs suspected to have otitis were screened, out of which 89 dogs were confirmed for otitis and subjected to indirect smear examination and isolation of Staphylococcal species. Among which, 68 dogs were found to be suffering from Staphylococcal otitis resulting in overall occurrence of 2.8 per cent. Higher occurrence was observed in dogs of 3-5 years of age followed by dogs of age group more than 6 years. Amongst different breeds, notably higher occurrence was observed in Labrador Retrievers followed by German Shepherd. Sex wise occurrence was seen higher in males as compared to females. The percentage of dogs with bilateral ear infection was more pronounced as compared to unilateral ear infection. Mostly, dogs had a duration of illness for less than 1 week. Amongst different types of exudate, yellowish exudate was presented more. Cytological examination revealed that mixed infection (bacteria + Malassezia) was the commonest cause for otitis.