The Health Committees of the Canadian
Manchester Terrier Club (CMTC) and American Manchester Terrier Club (AMTC) are
asking for your help in dealing with serious heart problems affecting our breed.
Over the past several years, the incidence of heart issues in the Manchester
Terrier seems to have increased. The symptoms and consequences of these
issues affect Standard and Toy Manchester Terriers differently, leading us to
believe that separate causes may be at the root for both. We believe that
now is the time to take action in dealing with these potentially devastating
health issues.
We are happy to announce that the CMTC &
AMTC will be working in partnership with the University of Prince Edward
Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College on a heart study dedicated to Manchester
Terriers. Stage one of the study will concentrate on incidences of juvenile
cardiomyopathy in Toy Manchesters.
Study
Overview
As you may be aware, there have been several cases of
previously unexplained deaths in young Toy Manchester Terriers (under one year
of age). On autopsy, the cause of death has been determined as
cardiomyopathy, a condition affecting the heart. These puppies typically die
very suddenly at a young age (i.e., deaths as young as 8 weeks and as old as one
year have been reported). The incidence of this condition appears to be on
the rise across North America.
Until relatively recently, no research could be found
to explain why cardio, which typically strikes older animals, would occur in
such young puppies. This study aims to determine the cause and hopefully
create a genetic test to help prevent it.
Drs. Cote
and Martinson (UPEI) will liaise with
Drs. Henthorn
and Sleeper (University of Pennsylvania) in order to investigate both
clinical and genetic aspects of the condition.
In order to do so, we need to concentrate our efforts
on three main tasks:
