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WSAVA Hereditary Defects Committee

    In early 2007, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association formed a WSAVA Committee on Hereditary Disease with the following goals:

  • Facilitate clinician diagnosis, treatment and control of hereditary diseases and genetic predispositions in dogs and cats, thereby improving the health of patients now and in future generations.
  • Provide and facilitate continuing education on practical and novel clinical genetic aspects at the WSAVA conferences and other international & national conferences as well as on web.
  • Include specific information from national and international organizations regarding guidelines in the future.
  • Focus on clinical information, such as clinical signs, course of disease, diagnostic tests, therapy and genetic control relevant to the clinician.
  • Create a web-based information system on hereditary diseases and genetic predispositions, and also other genetic traits.
For more information on the committee's goals, and objectives, click here.

Committee Members
  • Committee Chair: Prof. Dr. Urs Giger, University of Pennsylvania, USA & Zurich, Switzerland
  • Prof. Dr. Jerold Bell, Tufts University & private clinic, United States
  • Prof. Dr. Ake Hedhammar, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
  • Dr. Peter Markwell, Waltham & Mars Veterinary, United Kingdom
  • Dr. Jeff Sampson, The Kennel Club, United Kingdom

Committee members are picture from left to right: Drs. Markwell, Hedhammer, Bell, Giger, and Sampson.


For assess to resources specific to companion animal genetic diseases, select from the options below:


The WSAVA Committee on Hereditary Diseases is generously supported by a grant from Waltham.

The Committee greatly appreciates the support and assistance of
Dr. Paul Pion, Dr. Linda Shell, and Christopher Olszewski of the Veterinary Information Network.
For any inquiries, please contact Prof. Dr. Urs Giger at wsavagenetics@gmail.com