This was forwarded to me by a friend who has collies. This will be of 
special interest to anyone who has Collies, Shelties, Border Collies, 
Aussies, or any breed affected by the MDR1 gene and it's relation to the 
drug Ivermectin. If your dog is around livestock at any time, please 
read this!!!

~Jill

OT: Ivermectin - Livestock excrement and transmission to herding dogs
    Posted by: "[log in to unmask]" [log in to unmask] myshel417
    Date: Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:03 am ((PST))

Forwarding.  Interesting post.

Although posted by an aussie group member, this would apply to any breed 
documented with the MDR1 gene. Note that her post also mentions Border 
Collies have now been added to the list.

Lori
OT-Livestock & dogs - Ivermectin risk
For those that have Aussies or BC's.

A mutation of the MDR1 was just found in BC's so this situation with 
livestock could be of great importance.

I suppose it’s just a matter of time before more breeds fall 
susceptible.

More info on the MDR1 gene (& how they are finding its far more complex 
than just Ivermectin) can be found at http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/

Permission to forward or reprint granted.

I was recently contacted by someone asking whether a dog could have an 
MDR1 reaction due to eating feces from Ivermectin-treated livestock. I 
wasn't sure about that, so I checked with Dr. Katrina Mealy at 
Washington State University. Dr. Mealy is the scientist who discovered 
the MDR1 gene.

She told me that Ivermectin and the related drug, selamectin, were shed 
in feces of treated animals in active form. She went on to say that 
.they have had a number of reports on dogs that had ingested enough 
feces to have serious to fatal MDR1 reactions.

If you have Aussies or dogs of any other MDR1 breed who are prone to 
poop eating and may have access to excrement from livestock, it would be 
wise to do whatever you can to prevent them from doing so.

If you do not know the MDR1 status of your Aussies, I *strongly* 
recommend that you get them screened. Fully a third of Aussies have at 
least one copy of the mutation. Test kits are available from WSU: 
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-VCPL/

Even one copy may cause some level of reaction with some drugs. 
Ivermectin and similar drugs are not the only ones that can cause 
reactions. For an extensive list of MDR1 reactive drugs, including 
alternate brand names, see: http://www.busteralert.org/

CA
________________________________
C.A. Sharp
Pres. Australian Shepherd Health &
Genetics Institute, Inc.
All Aussies All Genes All the Time
http://www.ashgi.org
Editor, Double Helix Network News