title: Screening and controlling canine inherited ocular diseases in Finland: epidemiological, economical and health promotional aspect.
abstract: Official eye examination records of 18 146 dogs in 17 breeds were analyzed in order to evaluate the Finnish Kennel Club's eye examination scheme. The most common inherited ocular diseases were the Collie eye anomaly (CEA) in the Rough Collie and the persistent hyperplastic tunica vasculosa lentis (PHTVL) in the Doberman. In both diseases the prevalence has also increased during the study period 1988-1997. The most likely reason for the increase is the change in examination routines that now makes it easier to find milder disease forms that were previously classified as normal. The prevalences of other inherited diseases are so low that no conclusions about the trends can be made. Also, the data have some defects that can cause biased estimations of prevalences. The costs of screening programs are very high and no direct economical benefits can be shown. Methods of improving the screening and effectiveness of the program are also presented.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Helsinki, PL 57, 00140 Helsingin Yliopisto, Finland; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Helsinki, PL 57, 00140 Helsingin Yliopisto, Finland.
authors.forename: M.
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leppänen
authors.forename: H.
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saloniemi