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In Reply: Both Dr Whelan and Dr van der Wouden and Mr Bernsen raise questions about our assessment of dog and cat exposure. When the child was 1 year old we asked parents about the number and type of pets they kept in their home for more than 2 weeks during the previous year. We did not ask additional questions such as whether the pet was present the entire year or prior to the child's birth, the weight of the dog or cat, or whether pets were allowed in all rooms of the home. We feel that our classification of dog and cat exposure into 3 categories is a reasonable approximation of pet exposure.

Our data do not allow us to meaningfully speculate on whether the apparent protective associations are related to antigen (allergen) or endotoxin exposure or both. For boys, we found consistent indications that exposure to 1 dog . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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