Alla inlägg under oktober 2013

Av loren adams - 31 oktober 2013 06:38

  The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates there are 55,000 rabies deaths every year. According to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, the total is 70,000, with 10 million treated for bites from potentially infected dogs. India has the highest annual rate of deaths in Asia: 20,000. The majority of victims are under 15. Around the world, rabies kills around 100 children every day. In Africa and Asia alone, the disease (the most potently lethal known on earth) threatens 3.3 billion people – just under half the world's population.

The risks lurking in these regions often elude visitors from countries with tighter rabies controls: Australian and European tourists in places such as India and Bali, and US servicemen and women in Afghanistan.

In my opinion vaccinating animal populations is the only effective way to bring a rabies outbreak under control.

It’s really important that we vaccinate the dogs. You can’t kill your way out of a rabies problem. There’s just no way to kill them all, so vaccinating the animals is really the way to go.

 
Our work in Afghanistan; vaccinating and teaching rabies awareness, was regonized by Liane Wimhurst - Independent on Sunday - 25th September 2011:
"It was stray dogs that attacked specialist soldier Kevin Shumaker's remote Afghan base in the mountains of Chamanki in January. One plunged its fangs into the 24-year-old Californian's hand as he tried to break up a grisly fight. He needed six shots, but was only given three as the final half of the treatment had expired.
Months later his arm lurched into the grips of an intolerable tingling, his throat constricted and, finally, his brain haemorrhaged. He died in Fort Drum, New York on 31 August. "American soldiers don't realise the disease is much more common in Asian countries. So they sometimes take a chance and take care of a dog because they want companionship," says Major Loren Adams, veterinarian for soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

In south-east Asia, Bali is known to be an island of enchanting beaches, mesmerising temples, and now rabies. It had no history of the virus until 2008 but, within six months, no part of the island was left unaffected. The culprit was most likely a stray dog that had climbed aboard a trade ship from Indonesia. Hundreds of travellers from Australia and other countries have cut short their trips after attacks. Up to 300,000 dogs roam the island, lurking in back alleys, with potentially rabid drool bubbling in their mouths.

Bali has counted 132 deaths since the outbreak, but lacks proper records – so the number could be far higher. Demand for the vaccine far outstrips supply, meaning tourists need to make a frantic dash home for jabs. Rabies must be treated with a programme of injections very swiftly, preferably within 24 hours (they are given in the hips, not the stomach). Once symptoms show, death is inevitable.

The symptoms are like something from a horror film. Intense fear of air and water, throat surging into racking spasms at the sight of liquid and the gentlest of draughts feeling like a bomb blast, coupled with a frenzied energy and frothing at the mouth.

The post-bite jab was invented 126 years ago, but it has a huge price tag in the developing world: in Asia, it costs $49 (£32), and $40 in Africa, where the average daily income is between $1-$2. It is cheaper in India, which has developed its own vaccine.

Sarah Cleaveland, professor of comparative epidemiology at the University of Glasgow, found what she describes as a "classic rabies story" in northern Tanzania. A farmer had weeping bites and scratches carved into his back. He had been bitten by his rabid daughter. By the time his family scraped together money for treatment, it was too late – she was devoured by the disease, but he survived. Another family she met had enough money for one course of treatment after their five children were attacked by rabid dogs. They had just one day to choose which child to save.

Dr François-Xavier Meslin, head of neglected zoonotic diseases at the World Health Organisation, says patients are frequently condemned to a painful, brutal and often isolated death because they have no money.
Dogs are responsible for 97 per cent of human rabies cases. "They are the best conveyors of the virus," Dr Meslin says. While rabies might eventually be eliminated in dogs, it can never be stamped out in the wild, he says.
 Hawaii is the only state where there is no rabies. Around the world, Australia and Antarctica are also rabies-free.
For Dr Meslin, attempting to draw attention to rabies is like wailing in a wind-tunnel. While any part of the world has the disease, vast swathes of the planet risk an outbreak, but other short-term epidemics get more attention. "Rabies is not as attractive to donors as other zoonotic diseases of recent years, such as Sars [a form of pneumonia]," he says.
Specialists hope to mobilise efforts to combat the disease on World Rabies Day September 28th. The date commemorates the death of Louis Pasteur, the scientist who invented the first effective vaccine in 1885."

Av loren adams - 30 oktober 2013 09:25

On account of that my days with the Army are numbered.. I feel promted looking back.. Farewell to the Army, some 148 years ago:

    "

Duty is the most sublime word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less."***"Their sleepless, bloodshot eyes were turned to me.Their flags hung black against the pelting sky. Their jests and curses echoed whisperingly, As though from long-lost years of sorrow - Why,You're weeping! What, then? What more did you see? A gray man on a gray horse rode by. — Passage from Traveller, a novel by Richard Adams

----

"After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.

 By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You may take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection. With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell." 

Farewell to the Army of Northern Virginia* by Robert E. Lee:

 

Av loren adams - 29 oktober 2013 13:10

   Soon it is  Friday November 1st and All Saints Day. During 30 years+ of serving with the Military I have managed to keep myself alive...Now it is time to pray and remember those who haven´t been so lucky. The ever present Afghan Rebels are busy at work! So far 2,289 US Troops fallen in this War, almost all men and almost all aged 20-40 years. Hostile fire, helicopter crashes, roadside blasts, small arms fire - Green on Blue (Afghan soldiers turning their weapons against trainers), MIA - Missed in Action.. Some names not reported yet.. Homecoming for those identified - or unidentifiable - their coffins draped in the Stars and Stripes - the U.S Military developing all their heavy magnificence. For recipients, the silent and teary, it is "he" brought home - husband, father, son, brother, lover, companion. A huge collective spectacle, but the grief is private, remembering his last words: "I Love You".

 
Av loren adams - 29 oktober 2013 09:36

 

It is now 3 years since Key leaders of the U.S veterinary effort in Afghanistan met one-on-one in Kabul.

The military and civilian veterinary leaders exchanged ideas, and emphasized the importance of linking the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock with the agriculture departments at the provincial level.

A key component of the plan includes an effort to more closely tie together veterinary efforts at the national and provincial levels.

As for myself I explained about my work with veterinarians who are employed by the provincial government, as well as veterinarians in private practice. Thus I concurred with the need to coordinate efforts at all levels of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

However, I also also pointed out the important role we have to play in connecting Afghan livestock producers with their local veterinarians. When we can help veterinarians get in front of their potential customers, enhance the credibility of the local vets, and help them show farmers the benefits of better livestock nutrition and proper veterinary care, we've really done something for both the veterinarians and the farmers.

Av loren adams - 28 oktober 2013 08:23

As I pointed out already, there are still so much to do as regards our mission in Afghanistan to conduct agricultural activities that expand legal agribusiness, services, markets and ag education to reduce poverty, create jobs and secure stability in this war-ridden country. But only by being here I trust that we made a difference.  

It could never been achieved without understanding the importance of building up a solid ground of mutual confidence.  

After what Afghanistan been through for decades, I dont blame the Afghan people for regarding the presence of any foreing Troops with other than suspicion.

The keywords for success with our mission are confidence and mutual understanding.

 

Av loren adams - 27 oktober 2013 21:04

 
My name is Loren Adams. I am a Veterinary doctor in the US Army..and a major. By the year 2000 I decided to make a change. I sold my veterinary practice in New Liberty, Iowa and joined the Army Reserve. Soon I was was deployed around the world doing veterinary work.
Our team worked with dogs, did food inspections for all the meals the military eats, and we were involved in civil affairs, working with civilians in war zones.
 
I was the sole veterinarian with the 734th ADT that landed on Afghan soil in July 2010.
 
I knew there was much to do. A previous Guard unit had begun work on vaccinating and worming animals in the area. So I just tweaked the program. We hired local vets and began work to educate them on the importance of vaccinations and food security.
Our daily routine varied. I started a rabies-prevention program that eventually vaccinated 1,400 dogs. I began speaking around the province, meeting with public health directors, veterinarians and students.  
Other days I found myself conducting seminars on herd health, nutrition, surgical techniques and the importance of animal post-mortems. We also treated thousands of animals with vaccines and dewormers, ranging from sheep and cattle to dogs.
    
Our team's veterinary technician focused on start-up poultry businesses for Afghan women and I assisted her in educational seminars to teach basic animal health -- simple veterinary techniques, how to treat for parasites and diseases.  
I found the Afghan veterinarians eager to learn, no matter where they were. One day I showed them how to neuter a dog from the back of a pickup truck.  
 Despite the team's efforts, I am frustrated. People there are so poor, they're just doing what they can to survive.
But in an area mired in war, I still sees reason for optimism when it comes to veterinary advances.
  I think back to America before automobiles, veterinarians largely took care of the horses. It wasn't that long ago that people started to recognize the importance of vaccinations, and vets began to take on a greater role in the U.S

Av loren adams - 27 oktober 2013 19:45

 Little did I know back in 2010 that 3 years + I should still be deployed at War Zones in Afghanistan.
But now I feel it is time to get home and rest.. my days are numbered.
 
At times I have been thinking about my retirement from the Military.Together with my bank and other parties, I have been drawing up a financial plan to honour these commitments.  It is my dream to set up a veterinary clinic again, and to relocate and simultaneously continue my business in civvy streets.
And I have someone I love so much.

Tidigare månad - Senare månad
Skapa flashcards