TGen seeks dog saliva:
Study begs for canine slobber to look into valley fever fungus
The Research Translational Institute Genomicsis conducting a study of the molecular underpinnings of the fungus that causes valley fever in dogs as a precursor to studying humans. TGen is seeking 10,000 saliva samples.
your One is dog’sof conductingArizona’sdrool. ¶ premiera TGen, study theof medical-researchthe Translational molecular Genomics underpinningsgroups would Researchlikeof thea Institute,bit fungus of the illnessthat causesin humans. valley The fever Phoenixin dogs researchas a possible group precursor recently to teamed studying up with the Arizona Humane Society to promote the study and garner more canine saliva samples. ¶ “This can be a very serious disease in dogs,” said Dr. Steven Hansen, president and CEO of the Arizona Humane Society. Valley fever starts out as a respiratory ailment in dogs but can lead to joint pain, coughs, fevers and other symptoms. ¶ TGen, with help from the Humane Society, is seeking 10,000 canine saliva samples, of which about 1,200 have been collected so far, said Dr. Bridget Barker, a TGen assistant professor who heads the institute’s Northern Arizona Center for Valley Fever Research.
Participants can sign up by completing a short questionnaire at tgen.org/vfpaws. TGen will contact dog owners that it selects to participate and have them collect a saliva sample to be returned in the mail. Saliva is collected by swabbing a dog’s mouth. The procedure is simple and non-invasive, said Barker, adding that researchers are seeking saliva samples from all breeds.
Valley fever, which is caused by a dust-borne fungus endemic to the Southwest, affects humans too. While canine cases are difficult to quantify, somewhere between 10,000 and 25,000 Americans exhibit symptoms each year, roughly 70 percent of them in Arizona, Barker said. Some states such as Texas don’t report statistics, making exact numbers difficult to estimate. After Arizona, California’s Central Valley is the No. 2 spot for reported symptoms in the U.S., according to federal statistics.
Valley fever isn’t always diagnosed correctly in dogs, which can lead to delays in treatment. Most humans exposed to the fungus don’t develop symptoms.
“The big question is why some people get really sick while others don’t even know they’ve been exposed,” Barker said.
If the canine study generates promising results, it could lead to federal funding of human studies, though that could be a couple or more years down the road, she said.
The Humane Society will contribute to the saliva-collecting effort by taking samples of stray dogs at the trauma hospitals it runs and by raising awareness among dog owners who might want to participate.
“The big question is why some people get really sick while others don’t even know they’ve been exposed.” DR. BRIDGET BARKER TGEN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR