Lafora Testing Update 21st April 2013

Post date: Apr 21, 2013 7:4:36 PM

The following update has been issued by the WHDC Lafora Sub-committee:

We held our second blood testing day on 17^th April at the Poole House Veterinary Hospital, Lichfield, Staffs. WS13 8JY. It ran like clockwork and the veterinary staff were wonderful. In total we tested 45 dogs and the samples have been sent to Dr Minassian’s laboratory in Toronto.

By sheer coincidence we received an email from Dr Minassian during the late afternoon of the testing day, and here is what he told us.

WE HAVE IT !!!!!

Our new, older, technician, Hang Li, got the old forgotten Southern blot technique to work to perfection. We now have a wonderfully reliable test to distinguish wild-type (clear) from carrier from affected. Attached is an example of one of the Southern blots. You will see how beautiful and clear the test is.

We are all extremely pleased and grateful to Dr Minassian and his team for their hard work in perfecting this so that we can breed healthy dachshunds with confidence. The test will only be offered on blood (between 5 and 10 mls ideally)

When we have confirmation of the turnaround time from Dr Minassian, we will organise another testing day at the same venue – we expect this to be late June / early July and we anticipate being able to offer 60 tests on that day. If we have additional demand, we will book another summer testing day.

Dr Minassian has quoted us 300 Canadian Dollars per test (approximately £190). As we still have funds available supporting this project, we are still able to offer some subsidy. We will announce the actual fee people will need to pay nearer the time, as there is still some analysis to do on making sure we can test as many as possible, whilst offering support via the subsidy.

In the meantime, breeders can continue to use the information on the Wire Haired Dachshund Club web site – www.whdc.co.uk to check the status and background breeding of animals they are considering for use in their breeding programmes.

We will post any new updates here – thank you for your continued patience.