Alla inlägg den 15 januari 2014

Av loren adams - 15 januari 2014 11:04

There are modest improvements here in the quality of food fed to livestock translated into substantial gains in value when they went to market. A well-fed head of cattle can weigh at least 200 pounds more than a poorly fed head of cattle. That’s more to sell and more money in the owner’s pocket.

One of the keys to improvements is livestock parasite control. After poor nutrition, parasites were the single-greatest factor contributing to poor weight gain in livestock. Parasites are big problem for the farmers, and you must educate them on how to deal with this problem.

Another issue is rabies prevention and control.

Rabies, which is largely under control in the developed world, is a major animal and public health threat in large swaths of Asia and Africa. Rabies is always fatal after the onset of clinical symptoms.

According to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, at least 55,000 people, mostly children, die from rabies each year and the number may be much higher due to underreporting of the disease.

Rabies is endemic to Afghanistan. Every veterinarian here admits personally seeing rabies in livestock or humans.

I’ve been a veterinarian in a mixed practice for 25 years in Iowa and never once saw a case of rabies. It goes to show you what a widespread problem it is here that every single one of the veterinarians here has seen it in an animal or a person.

Veterinarians play a vital role in rabies control and prevention efforts. Not only do they educate their clients and the public at large about rabies, veterinarians also educate health professionals about the disease in many cases.

The dog population in developing countries, typically contains the largest reservoir of the rabies virus. Effective rabies control involves trapping, spaying or neutering, vaccinating and releasing dogs. Veterinarians are central to such programs as well.

What I want to do here is talk to children and adults about rabies; we want to do some education. And we also want to begin a vaccination program for the dogs and, of course, I need the veterinarians for that.

At one time I emphasized that spaying or neutering dogs is also essential to rabies control, which is why I demonstrated neutering surgery on a dog owned by a local Afghan.

 



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