Dear Akita friends,

The WUAC board and the WUAC health committee have a meeting last week in Tokyo. We are very glad to announce to you that the President of the Japan Kennel Club – Mr. Mitsuteru Hoshi – and the JKC Honour President –Mr. Toyosaku Kariyabu- has sign at October 15.2003 the contract for genetic research of Sebaceous adenitis with Göttingen University.

This means that Göttingen can start at once with the genetic research.

As we publish before the contract between the Japan Kennel Club and the University of Göttingen also contains a „privacy passage“ assuring that no information about the affected Akita and its owner/breeder will be passed on.

This privacy guarantee also prevents the flow of information to the Clubs.

Dr. Pfeiffer will join the WUAC general assembly in Gent in February 2004 to report us her first discovery/presumption. Even it is totally not realizable to get a sizable result in such a short time.

Everyone who wants to support the project with Biopsies, Blood and a copy of the pedigree please contact:

Dr. Ina Pfeiffer, University of Göttingen,

Groner Landstrasse 2, 37073 Göttingen

For appointments call:

0049-551-39-9695 or 0049-551-39-3395.

E-mail: ipfeiff@gwdg.de

An alternative for owners of SA affected dogs living abroad or far away from Göttingen in Germany we suggest the following procedure:

Express shipment to Göttingen in a Styrofoam cooler with either reusable ice packs („blue ice“) or even better dry ice.

The required receptacle for 2 tissue samples and 2 tubes for 2 ml EDTA-stabilize direct blood are available at every veterinarian.

Naturally it would be good if owners of affected Akita inform the Breed Clubs also, so the people who are responsible for the breed in the Club can use this information by advising the breeders.

At the moment we only can wish Dr. Pfeiffer and the team of Göttingen University success and the necessary needed luck by the genetic research, so we can hope that in some years no Akita has to suffer under this painful disease.

Angelika Kammerscheid-Lammers

Chairperson of the WUAC health-commission

(Anyone wishing to make a donation to help with this important project can find details of how to do so through this link)