Notice Board

PRT Health Matters

Canine health issues are at the forefront of many discussions at the moment and the KC now requires Breed Clubs to report regularly on their breed’s general state of health.

The PRT Club has had a health reporting mechanism in place for some years, co-ordinated by the Club Archivist, but in response to the KC‘s requirement to formalise our health reporting system it will in future be co-ordinated by Sarah Broadberry.

This health reporting service is totally confidential and, if fully used by members, would enable the co-ordinator to identify an adverse health trend should it develop in the breed. Professional advice could then be obtained and a discreet, positive way forward found.

Sarah Broadberry can be contacted by :-
Tel
Email : ratscallionterrier@hotmail.co.uk

Testing for Primary Lens Luxation - The Animal Health Trust

Primary Lens Luxation (PLL) is a well-recognised, painful and blinding inherited eye condition that affects many breeds of dog. In affected dogs the zonular fibres that support the lens breakdown or disintegrate, causing the lens to fall into the wrong position within the eye. If the lens falls into the anterior chamber of the eye glaucoma and loss of vision can quickly result.

Scientists at the AHT have identified a mutation that is associated with the development of PLL in several breeds of dog. The DNA test we are now offering examines the DNA from each dog being tested for the presence or absence of this precise mutation. It is thus a mutation-based test™ and not a linkage-based test™.

Breeders will be sent results identifying their dog as belonging to one of three categories:

CLEAR: these dogs have two normal copies of DNA. Our research has demonstrated clear dogs will not develop PLL as a result of the mutation we are testing for, although we cannot exclude the possibility they might develop PLL due to other causes, such as trauma or the effects of other, unidentified mutations.

CARRIER: these dogs have one copy of the mutation and one normal copy of DNA. Our research has demonstrated that carriers have a very low risk of developing PLL. The majority of carriers do not develop PLL during their lives but a small percentage do. We currently estimate that between 2% – 20% of carriers will develop the condition, although we believe the true percentage is nearer to 2% than 20%. We do not currently know why some carriers develop the condition whereas the majority do not, and we advise that all carriers have their eyes examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist every 6- 12 months, from the age of 2, throughout their entire lives.

GENETICALLY AFFECTED: these dogs have two copies of the mutation and will almost certainly develop PLL during their lifetime. We advise that all genetically affected dogs have their eyes examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist every 6 months, from the age of 18 months, so the clinical signs of PLL are detected as early as possible.

Breeding Advice

Our research has also demonstrated that the frequency of the PLL mutation is extremely high in most breeds. This means that allowing only CLEAR dogs to breed could have a devastating effect on breed diversity and substantially increase the likelihood of new inherited diseases emerging. Therefore, we strongly advise breeders to consider all their dogs for breeding, regardless of their PLL genotype. GENETICALLY AFFECTED and CARRIER dogs can be bred with, but should only be bred to DNA tested, CLEAR dogs. All puppies from any litter that has at least one CARRIER parent should be DNA tested, so that the CARRIERS can be identified and followed clinically throughout their lives. This practise should be followed for at least one or two generations, to allow the PLL mutation to be slowly eliminated from the population without severely reducing the genetic diversity of breeds at risk.

Samples submitted should be cheek swabs (a non-invasive sampling method) obtainable from the Animal Health Trust. Samples should be sent together with a completed DNA Testing form and payment for each sample to

Genetic Services, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7UU.

Kits for taking cheek swabs are available by phoning +44 (0)1638 555621 or via e-mail to swabrequest@aht.org.uk. The price of the test is £40, which includes both VAT and the cost of the sampling kit.

Further information can be obtained by e-mailing dnatesting@aht.org.uk.

Testing for Late Onset Ataxia (LOA) - The Animal Health Trust

Background Late onset ataxia (LOA) in the Parson Russell terrier (PRT) is a disease of incoordination of gait and lack of balance. The onset age for the disease is usually between 6 months and 1 year of age, when owners may start to notice that their dog is showing changes in gait pattern (often weaving of the hind limbs) and some difficulty balancing. The disease is progressive and affected dogs become increasingly uncoordinated with difficulty balancing, which makes moving around and everyday tasks such as going up and down stairs difficult. There is no treatment or cure for LOA and affected dogs are often euthanized, typically around two years after onset, on humane grounds as their quality of life diminishes.

Genetic investigations At the Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust we have been investigating the genetics of LOA in the PRT. In our initial experiments we performed a genome-wide screen of markers using DNA from 16 LOA affected dogs (cases) and 16 unaffected (control) PRTs. This approach enabled us to locate a small region of the genome (approximately 0.1 %) which was present in 15 of the 16 cases, but not present in any of the controls, and almost certainly contained the mutation causing the majority of LOA cases. In our second round of experiments we used a technique known as target-enrichment to separate the LOA associated region from the remaining 99.9 % of the genome in 2 cases and 3 controls. The LOA associated region, which still consisted of 2.5 million 'letters' of code, was then sequenced almost entirely using an advanced sequencing technique.

A DNA test is now availble which identifies dogs as belonging to one of three categories ie clear, carrier or genetically affected.

Kits for taking cheek swabs are available by phoning +44 (0)1638 555621 or via e-mail to swabrequest@aht.org.uk. The price of the test is £48, which includes both VAT and the cost of the sampling kit.

Further information can be obtained by e-mailing dnatesting@aht.org.uk.

2013 Championship Shows

17/01/2013 Manchester Mr. Svante Frisk

07/03/2013 Crufts Mrs. Sheila Atter

06/04/2013 National Terrier Moira Barrass

28/04/2013 WELKS Jack Watson

09/05/2013 Birmingham Dog Show Society Alan Small

19/05/2013 SKC Geoff Roden

01/06/2013 Southern Counties Roger Bigland

21/06/2013 Blackpool Stuart Plane

29/06/2013 Windsor Harold Gay

06/07/2013 East of England Mr. Arthur Cuthbertson

26/07/2013 Leeds Miss M. E. Barnett

03/08/2013 Paignton Geoff Burnhill

10/08/2013 Bournemouth Mr. Tom H. Johnston MPhil

17/08/2013 Welsh KC Mr. H. O'Donaghue

25/08/2013 SKC Karen Rimmer

07/09/2013 Richmond Mr. D. W. Shields

13/09/2013 Darlington Jeff Luscott

13/10/2013 NPRTC Championship Show Jan Wood

03/11/2013 PRTC Championship Show (Stoneleigh) Mrs. Gwen Small

25/10/2013 Midland Counties Cass Samways

15/12/2013 LKA Martin Baker