Cheyletiellosis
Cheyletiellosis
Cheyletiellosis
com/cheyletiellosis-in-cats-and-dogs/Home
I was recently referred an adult Samoyed that presented to us for her hair falling out. She was not
itching or scratching more than what the owner felt was a normal. The extent of hair loss and
ease of epilation of the hair coat was striking. The hair literally fell out in my hands when
touched. The skin was smooth to mildly scaling, and moderately erythematous (red). The pet
owner was not affected, and none of the other dogs or cats in the home were symptomatic. The
dog had previously been healthy and never had a skin problem. The dog was on several
immunosuppressive medications for an immune mediated blood disorder that was diagnosed 2-3
months prior to presentation. This might have been masking any itch that the mite would
typically be causing. The dog had also been empirically treated with antibiotics due to a possible
superficial bacterial folliculitis, but this did not improve the skin condition.
Diagnosis of Cheyletiellosis
During the consultation and after the dermatologic examination, my initial thought was that the
hair cycle and skin integrity had been compromised by the appropriate but chronic use of a
glucocorticoid (prednisone). I talked with the pet parent about effects of glucocorticoids on the
skin and hair cycle. The veterinary internist caring for the dog had already begun to taper the
immunosuppressive medications. I advised, with time, the cutaneous changes from prednisone
typically normalize and that I would expect hair regrowth. However, because of the findings on
examination and the history of prednisone usage, I recommended a few diagnostic tests to rule
in/out some other differentials that can cause the problem the dog was having. Skin surface
cytologies were performed to examine for yeast and bacteria. Surface and deep skin scrapings
were performed to examine for surface and follicular mites. The differential I was aiming to rule
out was canine demodex. Glucocorticoids may proliferate Demodex canis and the clinical exam.
Cytologies were negative for bacteria and yeast, but, to my surprise, I recovered the ectoparasite
below on skin scrapings.
The patient reported here was treated successfully with 3-4 applications of selamectin
(Revolution, Zoetis). The referring veterinarian prescribed the same treatment for the other pets
in the home. I advised that the owner maintain year round use of Revolution in effort to
prevent reinfestation.
Below are images of the mites actually recovered from our patient. Speciation was not possible
with the images taken.
2017 Northeast Veterinary Dermatology Specialists. All rights reserved.
http://www.nevetdermatology.com/cheyletiellosis-in-cats-and-dogs/ Depan
Nina Shoulberg DVM, MS & Lauren Pinchbeck DVM, MS
Untuk membuat janji, hubungi 914-777-DERM (3376)