PRA - Progressive Retinal Atrophy
What is PRA and do I need to test my cats????? We hope that after reading the article below and viewing further information on the websites suggested you will be able to make an informed decision.
There is a genetic disease that is being seen more frequently in the Siamese and related breeds, this is PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy), and a cat that is homozygous for this trait will most likely be blind by the age of 3 to 5 years. Some research shows the 33% of Siamese and their related breeds are carriers, and 11% are affected. This is a worrying thought as it will not be long before the disease is more deeply entrenched in the breeds. Fortunately there is a genetic test available from either UC Davis in California or at Langford in Bristol, the test at Langford costs about £25 if you are a member of a breed society, (they can issue discount codes to members) a small price to pay for peace of mind, and enabling breeders to make informed breeding decisions about matings, hopefully with this genetic information we can selectively breed to eradicate this disease from our cats.
Many thanks to Pippa Browning for contributing this article.
