This edition of the Bulletin highlights the work of the WSAVA Hereditary Disease Committee (HDC).  We thank all HDC members for their important contribution to companion animal veterinary care.

   WSAVA Clinical Updates

Keen to understand more about mixed-breed and purebred populations and how they relate to genetic disease in your patients? Watch this lecture given by WSAVA HDC Chair Dr Jerold Bell at the virtual 2020 AVMA Convention in August.
 

Check out this article from our official practice journal Clinician’s Brief. It is authored by WSAVA HDC Chair Dr Jerold Bell.

Genetic diseases, common in crossbreed and purebred dogs, are typically associated with evolutionarily ancient disease-liability genes that preceded the separation of breeds and are dispersed in the domestic dog genome. In the past century, the most common diseases in dogs have resulted from infectious, nutritional, and environmental causes. As clinicians have learned to manage the causes of these diseases (eg, through vaccination and proper diet), genetic predisposition has become a more frequent cause of disease. Frequency of common genetic disorders varies among breeds and may be caused by random changes (ie, genetic drift), popular sire syndrome, selection for aesthetic traits linked on chromosomes to disease-liability genes, or anatomic or conformational aspects that can alter disease liability. 
 
The hallmark of inherited disease is predictability of onset and progression. Recognizing predictable triggers and modifying factors that influence the expression of genetic disorders can help improve diagnosis, treatment, and control.
 

   Introducing the WSAVA HDC

Introducing the WSAVA Hereditary Disease Committee (HDC)
Working to help all cats and dogs live healthy lives.
 

Many of the characteristic breed traits and genetic diseases and predispositions seen in veterinary practice today have a heritable basis so the ability to diagnose and manage hereditary disease plays an ever more important role in veterinary medicine. But with more than 900 hereditary diseases and genetic predispositions recognized in dogs and a further 200 in cats, it can be difficult for clinicians to keep up with rapid advancements in clinical genetics and testing and the latest information on treatment and control.
 
The WSAVA HDC aims to help clinicians to support veterinarians and improve the health of dogs and cats by:
 

 Important updates from the WSAVA HDC

 Meet the Committee

 Meet the Breed

 World Congress