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SALUKI HEALTH - SUDDEN DEATH SYNDROME

REPORT ON SUDDEN DEATH FOR 1993 SALUKLI CLUB AGM - by Chris Lewis.

I have distributed 9 questionnaires. I have received 7 replies. I also have details of two other sudden deaths including cause of death. In addition I have investigated two deaths which occurred during the past few months, neither was a typical sudden death and both hounds were 7 years old, but it provided a good exercise to see if the system worked.

Initial results from these two cases indicated that one had died of a long standing heart condition. The other was under treatment for con current disease, unfortunately the owner has not returned the questionnaire and the samples were unsuitable for meaningful histology to be completed.

Of the eight cases investigated via 7 questionnaires and one personal communication the following preliminary results have been obtained:

No post-mortem                                        2 cases.
No significant finding at autopsy                     3 cases.
Death due to generalised Haemolytic E coli infection  1 case.
Death due to peritonitis                              1 case.
Death due to nodular endocarditis                     1 case.

These figures are too small from which to show any trend. It does however indicate that infection plays a part.

Death due to nodular endocarditis is of particular interest.

Nodular endocarditis is when the valves in the heart become infected frequently by a streptococcus (a species of bacteria). This infection can occur as early as the first 24 hours of life via the navel or later in life via the tonsils. The bacteria settles in the heart valves and in response tissue accumulates around the bacteria over a very long period of time (several months or even years). Eventually the valves look to be carlying little cauliflowers.

This material is soft and will, frequently when the heart is increasing its frequency as during exercise break off. When this happens the broken pieces lodge in the cardiac artery block it and the dog dies due to acute heart failure.

The interesting fact about this case is that two of the siblings also died at a very young age. It is not impossible that all three acquired their infection at or soon after birth. Unfortunately two of the siblings were not examined.

To anyone without the knowledge of the cause of death three siblings dying from the same litter at a young age would appear to be an inherited problem. In this case it is almost certainly infection acquired early in life.

This case illustrates the necessity for a thorough and comprehensive autopsy with attendant bacteriology and histology. However I am far from complacent since we have 3 cases wh~ extensive autopsies were performed with no significant findings being recorded. There appears to be no common factor in the pedigree, rearing, vaccination or adult management of these three cases.

I welcome further comments and wish to than'K those who have tragically lost young hounds for the time and effort given to complete the questionnaires and perhaps shed some light on the problem of sudden death in young hounds.

cc. Lance Abbott
Tessa Abbott
Peter Yardley
Chris Lewis
The Secretary.
typed by PY from transcript by Chris Lewis 20.3.93.

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