책임운영기관 농촌진흥청 국립축산과학원 (로고)

Blood type in dogs is based on the antigen present on the red blood cell surface. Dog erythrocyte antigen 1 is a crucial red blood cell antigen in dogs, whereas the dog erythrocyte antigen 7 has been studied in limited dog breeds worldwide. To assess the prevalence of dog erythrocyte antigens 1 and 7 in 11 breeds in the Republic of Korea, 624 dog blood samples were examined for antigen detection. Overall, 520 dogs (83.3%) showed dog erythrocyte antigen 1 expression. The distribution varied from 50.0∼100.0% according to the breed. Dog erythrocyte antigen 1-positive blood type was the highest in Chihuahua (100%), followed by Jindo dog (98.5%), and Sapsaree (95.3%). Dog erythrocyte antigen 7 was positive in 125 dogs (20.0%), and the positivity varied from 5.0∼42.9% according to the breed. Dog erythrocyte antigen 7-positive blood type was the highest in Beagle (42.9%), followed by Chihuahua (37.5%), and Jindo dog (27.8%). The high prevalence of dog erythrocyte antigen 1 is because of the high proportion of Jindo dog and Sapsaree breeds that were mostly positive for the antigen. The high abundance of these breeds could be due to inbreeding and local breeding in the Republic of Korea. To our best knowledge, this study is the first to report on the prevalence of dog erythrocyte antigens 1 and 7 among various canine breeds in the Republic of Korea. The prevalence data obtained from this study may contribute to baseline information on veterinary transfusion medicine in small animal practice.