Club members and breeders will be aware of the information on this serious, degenerative condition which has been made available in the last couple of years. Dr Jeff Sampson from the Kennel Club spoke at our AGM in 2010 and his paper can be found on the health section of the Club’s web-site.
A test for MPSIIIB was developed in the US some years ago and a number of British breeders have been testing their dogs for some time now. About a year ago, the Club committee was minded to insert a requirement in the Code of Ethics that all dogs must be tested prior to breeding and to request further that MPSIIIB testing of all breeding animals be added as a condition for any Schipperke breeder applying to become a member of the Kennel Club’s Assured Breeder Scheme.
This did not happen, however, since around the same time, three breeders re-tested some dogs and received results which differed from the originals. It transpired that errors had occurred at a time of particular difficulty in the US lab and that the first results had been “false” negatives. The animals concerned had already been bred from but by great good fortune, no affected progeny were born although some pups were shown to be carriers. This situation was clearly very alarming and distressing, especially for the conscientious breeders involved and as a consequence, confidence in the reliability of the test was severely dented.
After careful consideration in committee, one of the involved breeders and I met with Dr Sampson at the KC in London. We had a long and detailed discussion based on previously prepared questions and Dr Sampson stressed that, notwithstanding the errors which had arisen, the test remained robust and was being offered by an internationally reputable genetics team and laboratory. Dr Shirley Quillen, the principal co-ordinator for health with the Schipperke Club of America, confirmed this view in my subsequent correspondence with her, although there had been some errors involving US test results as well, almost all around the time of staffing problems and financial cuts at the test laboratory.
An approach was then made to the Animal Health Trust in this country to see if a UK-based test could be made available. The head of the AHT, Dr Kathryn Mellersh, has now been in communication with the US lab which has recently agreed to publish its data. This will enable the AHT to explore whether their laboratories can produce a test or not.
All this may take some time, of course, and committee has become increasingly anxious that, in the meantime, breeders are continuing to mate untested dogs whose MPSIIIB status is unknown. Since the condition has not apparently fully established itself in this country, it is vital that every possible tool is utilised now to eradicate it quickly.
As a result, and taking genetic advice in to account, the committee will ask the next AGM to approve a change to the Code of Ethics to include the requirement to test all breeding dogs and bitches prior to mating. If a tested carrier is to be used for breeding, then it will be essential that all resulting puppies are also tested to determine which, if any, are carriers. The committee also intends to ask the Kennel Club to register MPSIIIB test results as it currently does in other breeds with hereditary conditions and to impose the requirement for testing as a prerequisite for any Schipperke breeder requesting membership of the Assured Breeder Scheme.
The committee is very aware of the understandable reservations which some breeders might still have about the current MPSIIIB test. After debate, however, it has concluded that the only responsible course of action at this point, is to advocate the use of the only available test in an attempt to ensure that this destructive disease does not become established in UK Schipperkes.
Further information on testing can be found at the Penn Gen lab web-site (http://www.vet.upenn.edu/penngen) and on the US bonchien web-site (http://www.bonchien.com/MPSIIIB.html) where a voluntary register of test results is maintained.
IAN MILLAR
(Health Co-ordinator)
February, 2012.
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder in the Schipperke breed world-wide, and there is evidence of genes playing a major role in the disease predisposition. 