Fanconi Testing

[tanza]

"On my soap box"…..

Fanconi testing is important... it is most important that anyone breeding this year have the Sire and Dam tested.... The only way that we will rid ourselves of this horrible affliction is by testing and not breeding Basenjis that can produce Fanconi.

For all of you that have purchased puppies... and if you have contact with the breeder, regardless who it might be, please write or call them and see if they are or have done DNA testing?... Please give them the Basenji Club of America Heath website www.basenjihealth.org to learn about testing and why it is so very important. Please tell them Fanconi is NOT rare.. it has already proven to be very strong in the breed just looking at the breeders/owners that have tested their Basenjis since the test came out with the number of Carriers (not much below the number of clears) and the Basenjis that have shown up as affected (by way of the DNA test but maybe not expressing Fanconi yet). For breeders that are not members of BCOA and just breed to sell puppies, it is just as important that they test… and not produce puppies that can become sick... And all other health testing is very important too... because the only way that we can protect our wonderful breed is by doing what is the right thing and breed the best, healthiest, with good temperament Basenjis that we can.

Many breeders (long time responsible breeders) have been "shocked" that their entire line of breeding dogs past and present are Carriers of the gene.. it has been a real wake up call...

Only by getting the word out to anyone with our breed and "pushing" that testing be done will we make a difference....

[Terry]

Hear, hear Pat!
My soap box goes up right next to yours!

It's also important to all of us that we not 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' as happened to several lines when the HA test first became available. Carriers can be bred IF they have all the other characteristics, health, and temperament we want to see in our beloved babies and are bred to clears.

I absolutely agree that we need to 'push' for testing to be done.

Terry

[tanza]

@Terry:

Hear, hear Pat!
My soap box goes up right next to yours!

It's also important to all of us that we not 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' as happened to several lines when the HA test first became available. Carriers can be bred IF they have all the other characteristics, health, and temperament we want to see in our beloved babies and are bred to clears.

I absolutely agree that we need to 'push' for testing to be done.

Terry

Yes and not only that… if you have a male that came up as affected and it was something that you really needed to try and carry on a breeding line, you can breed that dog to a Clear bitch. You would get all Carriers, however then you take those to a Clear... so with the DNA test you can still breed Carriers and many people will, but to a clear... and really only if any Basenji has health, temperament and conformation should any Basenji be bred....IMO

[tanza]

And also remember that all DNA Fanconi testing results are in an open data base, if they are testing they are listed in the OFA data base www.offa.org. No saying they were tested… or "my" Vet said.... if they are tested they are in the open data base. Anyone can go and review the Basenjis that have been done already... just go to the OFA site, then to search, put in Basenjis for the breed and in the Report Type on the left that starts with the heading of Circulatory, scroll down to Fanconi and search, you will get all the Basenjis that have so far been tested.

[tanza]

If you are looking at the results and their is a CAR at the end, that means they are a Carrier of the Fanconi gene. It they are affected, it will say that and there are a few that show indetermined meaning between a Clear and a Carrier, so breeder should at this point considered them a carrier when breeding.

[tanza]

There have been 263 Basenjis tested and listed on the OFA site as of today (and I know that there have been lots of test results this week that are not there yet).. but to date here is what we are finding

53% or 140 Basenjis - Clear/Norman
6% of 16 Basenjis - indetermint (between a clear and a carriers)
35% or 91 Basenjis - Carrier of the Fanconi Gene
6% or 16 Basenjis - Affected with Fanconi

[lvoss]

One thing to keep in mind when looking at these numbers and other statistics, dogs that are already clinically affected are probably under represented because people already know their status. So though there are only 6% Probably Affected of the ones that have been tested people with known affecteds may not be submitting samples.

Another thing to add, if you have a known affected your dog's blood can help the researchers to find the direct gene test for Fanconi. Please check out the FAQ, http://www.basenjihealth.org/linkage-faq.html, and read about their call for clinically diagnosed affected dogs. These dogs will have their samples run for free and will help the entire breed by allowing researchers to locate the actual gene that causes Fanconi Syndrome.

[tanza]

@lvoss:

One thing to keep in mind when looking at these numbers and other statistics, dogs that are already clinically affected are probably under represented because people already know their status. So though there are only 6% Probably Affected of the ones that have been tested people with known affecteds may not be submitting samples.

Another thing to add, if you have a known affected your dog's blood can help the researchers to find the direct gene test for Fanconi. Please check out the FAQ, http://www.basenjihealth.org/linkage-faq.html, and read about their call for clinically diagnosed affected dogs. These dogs will have their samples run for free and will help the entire breed by allowing researchers to locate the actual gene that causes Fanconi Syndrome.

Thanks for posted that.. and glad that you brought that up about the affected… and also, many of the affecteds were used during the deveopment of the test....

One note about the "call" for clinically affected, only the test is free, you have to pay your Vet to have the blood drawn and sent.....

[lvoss]

If you have an affected and want to send sample you can also look for an upcoming blood draw clinic in your area. The 2007 Nationals will be having a blood draw clinic.

[sharronhurlbut]

I think when breeding season is over all the pet folks should have their dogs tested.
The results will tell you what you will be dealing with in the future.
Knowledge is power.
We all need to know how our dogs health is.

[lvoss]

I think it is important for pet owners to contact their dog's breeder and ask if the parents have been tested. If one parent has tested clear then the worst the dog can be is a carrier and will not become ill. If there is no clear parent then the dog will need to be tested or if the parents are not tested then the dog should be tested.

[tanza]

@lvoss:

I think it is important for pet owners to contact their dog's breeder and ask if the parents have been tested. If one parent has tested clear then the worst the dog can be is a carrier and will not become ill. If there is no clear parent then the dog will need to be tested or if the parents are not tested then the dog should be tested.

Exactly… of course for the many rescues that don't know the breeding or for 99.9% of the pups that came from BYB or Pet stores, I think we can all agree the parents were not and will not be tested....

And really they are doing all "comers" now, not just breeding dogs...

[lvoss]

This week's update is in and the new numbers look something like this

53% or 188 Basenjis - Clear/Norman
5% of 18 Basenjis - indetermint (between a clear and a carriers)
35% or 122 Basenjis - Carrier of the Fanconi Gene
7% or 24 Basenjis - Affected with Fanconi

[tanza]

@lvoss:

This week's update is in and the new numbers look something like this

53% or 188 Basenjis - Clear/Norman
5% of 18 Basenjis - indetermint (between a clear and a carriers)
35% or 122 Basenjis - Carrier of the Fanconi Gene
7% or 24 Basenjis - Affected with Fanconi

And a note on the indetermints, one that was listed this way has produced a Basenji with that is showing affected with the gene test, so that would indicated that his status would now be a carrier

Again, as Lisa noted before, this is not a ture number for affected since many that are now showing expression are not being tested or have been used in the development, also not being shown

[dmcarty]

re: puppy mills and testing only one parent - I know for a FACT that at one place the sire of several years of litters was not the sire - it was a male who had good papers so his name was listed even though he was DEAD. One of the PM's males was the sire of several litters attributed to this OTHER dog. (I happen to know the person who owned the substitute sire)

So it is unfortunate but the testing will only be as ethical as those who provide information to the test.

Geez I hate to even say that but I am afraid that it's true.

[tanza]

@dmcarty:

re: puppy mills and testing only one parent - I know for a FACT that at one place the sire of several years of litters was not the sire - it was a male who had good papers so his name was listed even though he was DEAD. One of the PM's males was the sire of several litters attributed to this OTHER dog. (I happen to know the person who owned the substitute sire)

So it is unfortunate but the testing will only be as ethical as those who provide information to the test.

Geez I hate to even say that but I am afraid that it's true.

No doubt about that… and another reason to only look at AKC who has a DNA parentage program for high volume breeders...