SCI - latest update from AHT today

"Firstly we'd like to wish you and your pets a very Merry Christmas! We can't believe it is Christmas time again already. Thankfully, however, in the past 12 months, we have been able to make good progress in our Seasonal Canine Illness (SCI) investigation.

We have not had any new cases of suspected SCI reported to us since November so we believe we are out of the high-risk season - as always though, we advise you to stay vigilant and watch out for clinical signs. If you are worried about your dog, please seek veterinary advice immediately.

2012 has been a busy year for our investigation. Following the coverage on BBC Countryfile, we had an enormous response from dog owners. We received more than 500 responses and enquiries which, as you can imagine, is keeping the team incredibly busy. In addition more than 650 questionnaires were submitted via our website, bringing the total number submitted this year to over 1000.

To date, the total number of affected and non-affected dogs reported from our designated sites for 2012 can be found in the table below:




Study area


Affected dogs


Non-affected dogs




Clumber Park


28


114




Rendlesham Forest


14


75




Sandringham Estate


22


70




Sherwood Forest


25


72




Thetford Forest


19


112




Total


108


443


Following Countryfile, we have had a number of suspected cases reported from other areas across the UK. Whilst this helps us in warning dog owners to remain vigilant when walking in any woodland during autumn months, we are not planning to expand our study sites at this point. We really are looking for a needle in a haystack and if we make that haystack any larger, it will be even harder to find the needle!

We are very grateful for all of this information and are busily sifting through the data to see what new clues it can offer our investigation. We have also been collating information and samples from vets that have been treating cases of SCI. All this information should help us narrow down our case definition, and subsequently help us narrow down the cause of SCI.

There is still much to be done before the definitive cause can be pin-pointed but we are confident that the search area is narrowing. We will be continuing our investigations next year, and we will be in touch with you when we have significant developments to report."

I try my best to avoid walking Rocky in any wooded areas now and just keep to paths. We have a country park in our town which we do walk around but we still keep to the pathway when we are there.

I really hope this illness can sorted out and soon. Looking forward to the results of the report.

Thanks for posting that. Let's hope they discover the cause soon.