View source for Dermatological Disorders - Donkey

==Introduction==

For centuries the donkey has been regarded as a robust and willing
servant of man, and most veterinarians accept that, as a species, it suffers
rather fewer skin diseases than most other domestic animals. However this
may be more in the perception than the actuality because the donkey tends
to '''show few signs of cutaneous discomfort'''. The concept of a skin disease
being a significant factor in the overall health of the animal is not widely
appreciated; it is largely viewed as trivial and incidental.

Many of the skin diseases of the donkey (and the horse for that
matter) have not been well characterised and so they are often given the
names of the ‘similar’ disorders in humans and other animals. This is
probably unjustified and may even be grossly misleading when treatments
are sought. '''Extrapolation from other species only works if the conditions
have identical pathophysiology and if the various species have identical
treatment requirements and tolerances.''' In the case of the donkey, little
is known and much is assumed. Some of the skin disorders that afflict
donkeys in tropical climates are very serious both to the donkey itself and
to its owners. '''Zoonotic implications''' should be considered where fungal
skin infections in particular, such as ''Trichophyton'' and ''Microsporum spp.'' (the
causes of dermatophytosis/ringworm) and others such as ''Cryptococcus spp.''
and ''Histoplasma spp.'' organisms are endemic.


<big>'''[[Skin Presenting Syndromes - Donkey|Presenting Syndromes]]</big>


{{infotable
|Maintitle = Categories of Skin Disorders:
|Maintitlebackcolour =7EB6FF 
|Mainwidth =25
|Body =
|subheading1colour =
|subheading1 = Non-infectious
|subheading1width =50
|subheading1text =<ol>
<li>'''[[Genetic and Developmental Skin Disorders - Donkey|Genetic and Developmental]]</li>
<li>'''[[Immunological Skin Disorders - Donkey|Immunological]]</li>
<li>'''[[Nutritional Skin Disorders - Donkey|Nutritional]]</li>
<li>'''[[Allergic Skin Disorders - Donkey|Allergic]]</li>
<li>'''[[Neurological Skin Disorders - Donkey|Neurological]]</li>
<li>'''[[Traumatic Skin Disorders - Donkey|Traumatic]]</li>
<li>'''[[Stings and Bites - Donkey|Stings and bites]]</li>
<li>'''[[Neoplastic Skin Disorders - Donkey|Neoplastic:]]</li>
* [[Sarcoid - Donkey|sarcoid]]</li>
* [[Squamous Cell Carcinoma - Donkey|squamous cell carcinoma]]
* [[Fibroma and Fibrosarcoma - Donkey|fibroma / fibrosarcoma]]
* [[Melanoma - Donkey|melanoma]]
<li> '''[[Iatrogenic and Idiopathic Skin Disorders - Donkey|Iatrogenic / idiopathic]]</li>
<li>'''[[Chemical and Toxic Skin Disorders - Donkey|Chemical / toxic]]</li></ol>
|subheading2colour =
|subheading2 =[[Infectious Skin Diseases - Donkey|Infectious:]]
|subheading2width =50
|subheading2text =
<ol>
<li>'''[[Viral Skin Infections - Donkey| Viral]]</li>
:Coital exanthema
<li>'''[[Bacterial Skin Infections - Donkey|Bacterial]]</li>
:Dermatophilosis, Staphylococcal / Streptococcal farunculosis or folliculitis, Fusobacterial dermatitis
<li>'''[[Fungal Skin Infections - Donkey|Fungal]]</li>
:Dermatophytosis, Histoplasmosis (epizootic lymphangitis), Cryptococcosis
<li>'''[[Protozoal Skin Infections - Donkey|Protozoal]]</li>
:Besnoitiosis, Trypanosomiasis
<li>'''[[Parasitic Skin Infections - Donkey|Parasitic]]</li>
:Chorioptic mange / other mite infestations, Pediculosis (lice), Habronemiasis, Onchocerciasis, Ticks</ol>
}}

==Summary==

Skin disease in donkeys is a poorly documented speciality. Donkeys are liable to the full range of infectious and non-infectious diseases but under most natural conditions they remain remarkably free of skin disease.

The robust and uncomplaining character of most donkeys means that many skin diseases are presented late in the course and the number of therapeutic agents that can be used is small, and so there are major problems. For the most part the philosophy should be to limit therapy to the directly effective medications and try to restore the skin to a more natural condition by appropriate management.

Traumatic injuries are a serious complication in many places and secondary infection of these injuries and other inflammatory disorders is common.

==Literature Search==
[[File:CABI logo.jpg|left|90px]]


Use these links to find recent scientific publications via CAB Abstracts (log in required unless accessing from a subscribing organisation).
<br><br><br>
[http://www.cabdirect.org/search.html?q=de%3A%28skin%29+AND+od%3A%28donkeys%29 Publications related to donkey skin]

==References==

* Knottenbelt, D. (2008) Skin disorders In Svendsen, E.D., Duncan, J. and Hadrill, D. (2008) ''The Professional Handbook of the Donkey'', 4th edition, Whittet Books, Chapter 8



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|linktext =Clinical Section - Donkey
|pagetype=Donkey
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{{infotable
|Maintitle = [[Sponsors#The Donkey Sanctuary|This section was sponsored and content provided by '''THE DONKEY SANCTUARY''']]
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[[Category:Donkey]]
[[Category:Clinical_Section_-_Donkey]]