Evaluation of serum mineral status in dermatological disorders of dogs

The study was undertaken to evaluate serum mineral status, specifically zinc, copper and selenium in dogs affected with dermatological disorders in comparison to normal healthy dogs. The study included 40 dogs of 2-5 years of age with skin diseases presented to University Veterinary Hospitals at Mannuthy and Kokkalai under the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, and ten apparently healthy dogs brought to the hospital for routine health check-up which served as control. Serum concentrations of the three minerals were compared not only between normal and dogs with skin diseases as a whole but also between individual skin diseases- six different skin diseases- with the control group. On comparing the dogs with skin ailments (n=40) and control group, the serum mineral levels analysed through Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) revealed that the concentration of zinc was significantly lower (p