The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 125, Issue 3 , Page 765, March 2010

Cats and dogs: An attractive remedy versus atopy?

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Alimentari e Microbiologiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy

published online 08 February 2010.

Article Outline

 

To the Editor:

Because I am very keen on cats and dogs, I read with interest both the article by Mandhane et al1 and the related editorial.2 The first article provides evidence that living with cats and dogs is associated with a lower risk of atopy during childhood and young adulthood.

As stated in the editorial,2 it is not possible to evaluate whether the protective effect is associated with cat allergens, dog allergens, or both or with other exposures, such as endotoxin and other microbial products that have been linked to the presence of animals. A ‘‘healthy worker'’ effect has been invoked as a possible explanation for the lower prevalence of atopy among children raised on farms.3

I think that the presence of both dogs and cats can be related to the presence of a garden in the house of these pets owners, therefore they surely have been indirectly in contact with mud and its bacterial population.

Even if no garden is present, it can be assumed that dogs need to be taken for a walk at least twice a day, whereas cats are mostly present at home, and this may influence the results reported by Mandhane et al.1 How many times do owners take care to wash deeply and disinfect the legs of their favorite pets?

Furthermore, it has been reported4 that cat ownership in Europe is highly variable and not exceptionally high, but pet ownership is not an absolute criterion to be referred to. According to Eurispes,5 in 2006 about 6.5 million dogs and 8.5 million cats were thought to live in Italy, of which half a million and 2.5 million, respectively, were strays. How many times have babies been licked in the face by a puppy or had an arm or hand scratched by a kitten? By the way, I have never owned dogs or cats, but I practically always stop to pet my friends' pets and most of the stray pets I encounter.

Together, these facts could act as a powerful means to induce atopy, along with the minor daily wounds that my generation normally reported during our rough but happy childhood.6

Back to Article Outline

References 

  1. Mandhane PJ, Sears MR, Poulton R, Greene JM, Lou WYW, Taylor DR, et al. Cats and dogs and the risk of atopy in childhood and adulthood. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009;124:745–750
  2. Salo PM, Zeldin DC. Does exposure to cats and dogs decrease the risk of allergic sensitization and disease?. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009;124:751–752
  3. Braback L. Does farming provide protection from asthma and allergies?. Acta Paediatr. 2002;91:1147–1149
  4. Heinrich J, Bedada GB, Zock JP, Chinn S, Norback D, Olivieri M, et al. Cat allergen level: its determinants and relationship to specific IgE to cat across European centers. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006;118:674–681
  5. Eurispes business annual reports, 2009, p.125. http://www.eurispes.it/index.php/Rapporto-Italia/rapporto-italia-2009.html. Accessed December 24, 2009.
  6. Brenna OV. In pride of a rough-and-tumble life. Trends Immunol. 2008;29:1–2

 Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: The author has declared that he has no conflict of interest.

PII: S0091-6749(09)01729-1

doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2009.11.013

Refers to article:

  • Cats and dogs and the risk of atopy in childhood and adulthood , 25 August 2009

    Piush J. Mandhane, Malcolm R. Sears, Richie Poulton, Justina M. Greene, W.Y. Wendy Lou, D. Robin Taylor, Robert J. Hancox
    The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology October 2009 (Vol. 124, Issue 4, Pages 745-750.e4)

  • Does exposure to cats and dogs decrease the risk of allergic sensitization and disease?

    Päivi M. Salo, Darryl C. Zeldin
    The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology October 2009 (Vol. 124, Issue 4, Pages 751-752)

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 125, Issue 3 , Page 765, March 2010

Article Tools