The effect of repeated eye examinations and breeding advice on the prevalence and incidence of cataracts and progressive retinal atrophy in German dachshunds over a 13-year period.

Sarah Koll,Sven Reese,Ivica Medugorac,Roberto Köstlin,Rick F Sanchez,Carsten U Rosenhagen

doi:10.1111/vop.12378

Abstract

To analyze the change in prevalence and incidence of hereditary eye diseases (HED) in dachshunds due to breeding regulations based on biennial examinations performed by the German panel of veterinary ophthalmologists (DOK) from 1998 to 2011. A total of 12 242 dachshunds examined by the DOK and pedigree data of 318 852 dachshunds provided by the German Dachshund Club (DTK). The prevalence of congenital cataract (CC), distichiasis (DIST), hereditary cataract (HC), persistent pupillary membranes (PPMs), persistent hyperplastic tunica vasculosa lentis / persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHTVL/PHPV), progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), retinal dysplasia (RD), and findings such as fiberglass-like cataract (FGC) and prominent suture lines (PSLs) was analyzed. The significance (P), confidence interval (CI), odds ratio (OR), relative risk (RR) and inbreeding coefficients (F) were calculated and P < 0.05 was considered significant. The incidence was evaluated based on affected dogs within birth cohorts from 1993 to 2006. The prevalent conditions studied were as follows: CC 0.5%, DIST 6.7%, HC 3.9%, PPMs 8.4%, PHTVL/PHPV 0.4%, PRA 1.5%, RD 0.2%, FGC 2.2%, and PSL 1.5%. The incidence of PRA decreased significantly from 6.0% to 0.6% for dogs born from 1993 to 2006, while HC showed a decreasing trend from 8.7% to 3.1%. More males than females were diagnosed with HC and PRA. Dachshunds with HEDs had an F that was not significantly higher than that of healthy dachshunds. The decreasing incidence of PRA and HC in dachshunds supports the use of frequent HED examinations in combination with breeding control.

Highlights

Hereditary eye diseases are a concern as they may affect the breeding fitness of many dog breeds
The decreasing incidence of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) and hereditary cataract (HC) in dachshunds supports the use of frequent hereditary eye diseases (HED) examinations in combination with breeding control
Because HC and PRA were the focus of this study, the data for these conditions were analyzed with the following results: A total of 3.9% (CI95: 3.5-4.2%) of dachshunds in this study were affected by HC, which represented a total of 191 (4.8%) of all the examined males and 289 (3.5%) of all the examined females

Summary

Introduction

Hereditary eye diseases are a concern as they may affect the breeding fitness of many dog breeds. The European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ECVO) runs a program for the diagnosis and control of Presumed Inherited Eye Diseases (PIED). It is called the Hereditary Eye Disease Scheme and it is referred to as ‘the Scheme’ or the ‘ECVO Scheme’. It provides definitions, guidelines, advice and information concerning PIED, as described in the ECVO Manual for PIED of dogs and cats. [1] The German Eye Panel, known as the 'Dortmunder Kreis' (DOK), has been part of the ECVO Scheme since 1998 and provides dog owners with eye examinations for hereditary eye diseases (HED) and PIED, using the standardized examination form of the ECVO. The DOK consists of approximately 80 veterinarians working in private practice and universities. [2] In order to become a DOK member, a standardized admission procedure has to be passed successfully, including giving evidence of advanced training in ophthalmology with ophthalmic instrumentation, and passing a theoretical and practical examination

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