Basenji Health
Basenjis are generally healthy dogs with a typical lifespan of 10 to 14 years, but they are prone to specific inherited genetic conditions that all responsible breeders should be testing for in their breeding stock.
The five OFA Health Tests required for CHIC include Fanconi, PRA, OFA Eye Exam, Thyroid, Hip Dysplasia.
More information can be found at OFA.org and on the BCOA website.
Eyes
An annual examination performed by a certified ophthalmologist to check for other eye abnormalities. Most breeders will do a pups first eye examination at 8 weeks of age as part of the 8wk evaluation process. An OFA Eye Exam is recommended to be done yearly.
Fanconi Syndrome
Fanconi syndrome is an inherited disorder in which the proximal renal tubules of the kidney do not properly reabsorb electrolytes and nutrients back into the body, but instead "spill" them into the urine. Symptoms include excessive drinking, excessive urination, and glucose in the urine. If Fanconi is left untreated, further symptoms may occur including general poor condition, muscle wasting, and acidosis. Untreated, a dog with Fanconi syndrome will generally die from the disorder. If caught early and put on the treatment protocol, affected dogs can do well.
A DNA test was developed to help vets and breeders determine if a dog has this disease. The results of the test can come back as CLEAR, CARRIER, and AFFECTED. Clear means that the dog is clear of the disease and will not pass it on to its puppies if bred. Carrier means that the dog carries a copy of the DNA but is not affected with the disease. When a Carrier is bred to a Clear, the puppies produced will either be Carriers or Clear. When a Carrier is bred to another Carrier, the puppies produced have a high likelihood of being Affected. It is highly recommended to never breed a Carrier to a Carrier. Affected means that the dog has the disease and should begin the treatment protocol.
Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)
PRA is a group of inherited diseases that cause degeneration of the retina in dogs and results in permanent blindness. The retina is a thin layer of nervous tissue that lies in the back of the eye and is responsible for converting light into electrical impulses. The electrical impulse is then transmitted along the optic nerve to the brain, where the electrical impulses are interpreted as an image.
The cells within the retina that are directly responsible for the conversion of light to an electrical impulse are called photoreceptors. There are two types of photoreceptors: rods and cones. The rods are responsible for dim light vision, and the cones are responsible for bright light and color vision. Progressive Retinal Atrophy begins with degeneration of the rod photoreceptors. This may be noticed by pet owners as night blindness or decreased “confidence” in dimly lit areas.
As the degeneration of rods progresses, the cones will begin to degenerate. Therefore, loss of vision in brightly lit environments will occur later in the progression of the disease. As PRA progresses slowly, many dogs will learn to partially accommodate for their visual deficits through their senses of hearing and smell. Because of this accommodation, it is not uncommon for some pet owners to notice the visual deficits only after significant degeneration of both rods and cones has occurred.
A DNA test was developed to help vets and breeders determine if a dog has this disease. The results of the test can come back as CLEAR, CARRIER, and AFFECTED. Clear means that the dog is clear of the disease and will not pass it on to its puppies if bred. Carrier means that the dog carries a copy of the DNA but is not affected with the disease. When a Carrier is bred to a Clear, the puppies produced will either be Carriers or Clear. When a Carrier is bred to another Carrier, the puppies produced have a high likelihood of being Affected. It is highly recommended to never breed a Carrier to a Carrier. Affected means that the dog has the disease and should begin the treatment protocol.
Thyroid
Basenjis are prone to hypothyroidism, a condition where the thyroid gland does not make enough hormones to control the body's metabolism. Basenjis often have a lower normal reference range for thyroid hormones than other dog breeds. This means that standard lab results can sometimes appear abnormally low even when the dog is healthy. The autoimmune form typically develops between 2 and 5 years of age. Symptoms include gaining weight without eating more food, lethargy, weakness, lack of desire to play or exercise, dry skin, hair loss, a dull coat, and frequent skin infections.
Hip Dysplasia (OFA or PennHIP)
Basenjis can experience canine hip dysplasia, an inherited condition where the hip joint develops improperly and leads to arthritis, though they are one of the least affected breeds. Symptoms of hip dysplasia include bunny-hopping or swaying gait when running, difficulty rising from a resting or lying position, stiffness in the hind legs or reluctance to climb stairs, reduced muscle mass in the thighs over time, and signs of pain when the hip joint is extended.
What Do Hip Grades Mean?
The phenotypic evaluation of hips done by the OFA falls into seven different categories. Those categories are Normal (Excellent, Good, Fair), Borderline, and Dysplastic (Mild, Moderate, Severe). Once each of the radiologists classifies the hip into one of the 7 phenotypes above, the final hip grade is decided by a consensus of the 3 independent outside evaluations. Examples would be:
Two radiologists reported Excellent, one Good—the final grade would be Excellent
One radiologist reported Excellent, one Good, one Fair—the final grade would be Good
One radiologist reported Fair, two radiologists reported Mild—the final grade would be Mild
The hip grades of Excellent, Good and Fair are within normal limits and are given OFA numbers. This information is accepted by AKC on dogs with permanent identification (tattoo, microchip) and is in the public domain. Radiographs of Borderline, Mild, Moderate and Severely dysplastic hip grades are reviewed by the OFA radiologist and a radiographic report is generated documenting the abnormal radiographic findings. Unless the owner has chosen the open database, dysplastic hip grades are not in the public domain.
Excellent: This classification is assigned for superior conformation in comparison to other animals of the same age and breed. There is a deep seated ball (femoral head) which fits tightly into a well-formed socket (acetabulum) with minimal joint space. There is almost complete coverage of the socket over the ball.
Good: slightly less than superior but a well-formed congruent hip joint is visualized. The ball fits well into the socket and good coverage is present.
Fair: Assigned where minor irregularities in the hip joint exist. The hip joint is wider than a good hip phenotype. This is due to the ball slightly slipping out of the socket causing a minor degree of joint incongruency. There may also be slight inward deviation of the weight-bearing surface of the socket (dorsal acetabular rim) causing the socket to appear slightly shallow. This can be a normal finding in some breeds however, such as the Chinese Shar Pei, Chow Chow, and Poodle.
Borderline: there is no clear cut consensus between the radiologists to place the hip into a given category of normal or dysplastic. There is usually more incongruency present than what occurs in the minor amount found in a fair but there are no arthritic changes present that definitively diagnose the hip joint being dysplastic. There also may be a bony projection present on any of the areas of the hip anatomy illustrated above that can not accurately be assessed as being an abnormal arthritic change or as a normal anatomic variant for that individual dog. To increase the accuracy of a correct diagnosis, it is recommended to repeat the radiographs at a later date (usually 6 months). This allows the radiologist to compare the initial film with the most recent film over a given time period and assess for progressive arthritic changes that would be expected if the dog was truly dysplastic. Most dogs with this grade (over 50%) show no change in hip conformation over time and receive a normal hip rating; usually a fair hip phenotype.
Mild Hip Dysplasia: there is significant subluxation present where the ball is partially out of the socket causing an incongruent increased joint space. The socket is usually shallow only partially covering the ball. There are usually no arthritic changes present with this classification and if the dog is young (24 to 30 months of age), there is an option to resubmit an radiograph when the dog is older so it can be reevaluated a second time. Most dogs will remain dysplastic showing progression of the disease with early arthritic changes. Since HD is a chronic, progressive disease, the older the dog, the more accurate the diagnosis of HD (or lack of HD).
Moderate Hip Dysplasia: there is significant subluxation present where the ball is barely seated into a shallow socket causing joint incongruency. There are secondary arthritic bone changes usually along the femoral neck and head (termed remodeling), acetabular rim changes (termed osteophytes or bone spurs) and various degrees of trabecular bone pattern changes called sclerosis. Once arthritis is reported, there is only continued progression of arthritis over time.
Severe Hip Dysplasia: assigned where radiographic evidence of marked dysplasia exists. There is significant subluxation present where the ball is partly or completely out of a shallow socket. Like moderate HD, there are also large amounts of secondary arthritic bone changes along the femoral neck and head, acetabular rim changes and large amounts of abnormal bone pattern changes.