Comparison of culture-dependent and -independent bacterial detection results on nasal swabs in dogs with nasal discharge.

Objectives: The role of bacterial communities in the pathophysiology of canine nasal disease is still unclear. How and when to treat dogs with suspected secondary bacterial rhinitis and on which test to rely before making a decision to treat with antimicrobials has not been established. The objective is to compare the results of bacterial identification using agar-plate cultures and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in dogs with nasal discharge suspected to be of bacterial origin.

Assessment of the nasal microbiota in dogs with fungal rhinitis before and after cure and in dogs with chronic idiopathic rhinitis.

Background: Pathogenesis of canine fungal rhinitis is still not fully understood. Treatment remains challenging, after cure turbinate destruction may be associated with persistent clinical signs and recurrence of fungal rhinitis can occur. Alterations of the nasal microbiota have been demonstrated in dogs with chronic idiopathic rhinitis and nasal neoplasia, although whether they play a role in the pathogenesis or are a consequence of the disease is still unknown.

Utility of fungal polymerase chain reaction on nasal swab samples in the diagnosis and monitoring of sinonasal aspergillosis in dogs.

Background: In dogs with sinonasal aspergillosis (SNA) the utility of PCR in the diagnosis and monitoring of the disease after treatment has not been assessed.

Objectives: To evaluate the presence of fungal DNA using quantitative PCR targeting Aspergillus fumigatus (Aspfum) and Aspergillus spp. (PanAsp), and PCR targeting multiple fungal species (PanFun), in samples obtained from nasal cavities of dogs with SNA, other nasal diseases and healthy dogs.

Variations in facial conformation are associated with differences in nasal microbiota in healthy dogs.

Background: Extrinsic and intrinsic factors have been shown to influence nasal microbiota (NM) in humans. Very few studies investigated the association between nasal microbiota and factors such as facial/body conformation, age, and environment in dogs. The objectives are to investigate variations in NM in healthy dogs with different facial and body conformations.