PRA Status Page
PRA is the abbreviation for the eye disease Progressive Retinal Atrophy.
This disease in Cardigans usually has an early onset and can be determined
by two years of age. Most Cardigans affected with PRA will be blind by
three years of age. This is a seriously debilitating disease.
History: In the 1960's there was a high incidence of Cardigans who were
becoming blind. Veterinary testing to determine carrier animals had not
yet been developed, so animals who had produced known cases of PRA were
identified as carriers and were eliminated from breeding programs. There
was a large number of PRA carriers in the United States, England and New
Zealand. Because the breed was in its development stages in the United
States, the discovery of PRA severely impacted the blossoming gene pool.
Many foundation studs and brood bitches were identified as carriers, but
not before they had produced many puppies.
After many generations of diligent testing on the part of North American
breeders, PRA began to subside. Occasional isolated cases of PRA cropped
up, breeders continued eliminating known carriers, and soon there were
no reported cases of PRA.
In the early 1990's two American litters of Cardigans became affected
with PRA. These litters were unrelated to each other in the first five
generations. One litter had a known carrier in the fourth generation, but
the other litter had no known carriers in the first six generations. It
was obvious that PRA still existed in the Cardigan breed in North America.
At about the same time, Holland began reporting cases of PRA. These dogs
were unrelated to the American dogs, and were descended from English stock.
In the mid-1990's the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America and the Cardigan
Welsh Corgi Association (England) began working with researchers on the
development of a marker gene test to determine the genetic status of Cardigan
breeding stock. The marker gene was identified in late 1997, and the test
was developed in early 1998. Testing began in England in May 1998, and
in the United States in July 1998.
This PRA Status Page is provided by the CCWCC as a service to breeders
and puppy buyers. Breeders will find the list invaluable in identifying
both PRA carriers and unaffected dogs in the pedigrees of their breeding
stock. By identifying carriers and carefully selecting mates for these
dogs, the eventual elimination of this disease is now possible.
Puppy buyers can use this list to identify carriers in their puppy's pedigree,
also. However, be aware that the carrier status of any individual dog does
not affect that dog's health in any way. It is the breeding of two carriers
together that produces PRA. According to the American College of Veterinary
Opthamologists, the Cardigan breed in North America has less than 1% of
dogs affected with PRA. When buying a puppy from a breeder, ask to see
the PRA status certificates of the parents, or all four of the grandparents.
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