Naked Science Forum
General Science => Question of the Week => Topic started by: katieHaylor on 20/08/2018 16:12:26
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Andrew asks:
Do wild animals also suffer from allergies? And if so, does this occur at the same rate as in humans?
What do you think?
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Andrew asks:
Do wild animals also suffer from allergies? And if so, does this occur at the same rate as in humans?
What do you think?
Why wouldnt they. Humans and other domesticated mammals are all animals. Wild or domesticated they have no notable differences, a pig a human or a chimpanzee are all mammals and all very closely related.
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My Mum's dog gets itchy skin and costs a fortune in steroids, anti-histamines and immune modulators to keep the scratching under control.
Not a wild animal, admittedly, but pretty close. But I suspect that the selective pressure not to develop an allergy amongst wildlife is considerably stronger than for pets and humans.
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My Mum's dog gets itchy skin and costs a fortune in steroids, anti-histamines and immune modulators to keep the scratching under control.
Not a wild animal, admittedly, but pretty close. But I suspect that the selective pressure not to develop an allergy amongst wildlife is considerably stronger than for pets and humans.
In the wild things are not as clean as they are in a good hospital, perhaps a dirtier less hygienic environment builds a better immunity to allergens https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9357-the-dirty-truth-about-allergies/ .
Edit: In the wild, natural selection may be more effective with no anti allergen medicines to keep wild tings alive and healthy.
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This question has now been answered, and you can listen to it here:
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/question-week/do-wild-animals-get-allergies