Veterinary Doctors Response to Covid 19 and Responsibilities to Control Future Pandemics
Veterinary Doctors are dealing with lot of zoonotic diseases,which are common in Animals and rare in humans.Example are Rabies in dogs and domestic animals,Bird flu in poultry birds which are viral diseases.Anthrax in cattle, sheep, goat and Brucellosis in cattle and sheep and goat which are bacterial diseases.
Veterinary Doctors in their day to day veterinary medical practices dealing with more than 500 Zoonotic diseases and among them 300 viral zoonotic diseases.Veterinary Doctors are the first line affected persons by these zoonotic diseases. Lot of veterinary Doctors lost their life due to zoonotic diseases which are called as Occupational hazards.During covid19 pandemic veterinary Doctors shared their experiences with Medical Doctors,Researchers and common public in dealing with new viral diseases.
First Respondent to new diseases:
Veterinary Doctors are the first Respondents in attending the new disease symptoms in animals.They able to identify the new disease symptoms in animals and have potential to spreading to human populations.
Historical References:
Cowpox,a pox disease in cattle for which veterinary Doctors were the first Respondents and identified it transmission to milkman and which lead to the invention of small pox vaccine for Human.
Foot and mouth disease in cattle for which veterinary Doctors were the first Respondents,which paved way for production of First recombinant subunit vaccine.This invention lead to production of high tech vaccines for different diseases for human use.
The Bovine RSV and TB for which veterinary Doctors were the first first Respondents paved the way for the Natural models for human disease.
Veterinary Doctors in poultry farms are the first Respondents for the Marek’s disease and it is occurrence and disease control lead as natural model for human T cell lymphomas.
Veterinary Doctors in pig farms contributions in the disease Identification and reporting lead to the
Swine plague vaccine used during first global Vaccination campaign in history. Veterinary Doctors in the pig farms dealt with swine Influenza and Nipah virus infections in pigs and their disease reporting and disease control procedures used as a natural models for human disease.Rabies in dogs for which veterinary Doctors were the first Respondents,pave the way for Rabies control and Eradicate in human populations.Equine veterinary Doctors contributions in disease reporting and disease monitoring pave the way for serum from immune horses used to define the role of antibodies for human disease like Diphtheria.
Veterinary Doctors need support at regional level with best diagnostic equipments for the earliest detection of new disease symptoms and Authority to impose local quarantine measures through one health concept, which are the need of the hour to stop all new pandemics.
Next Pandemics :
New pandemics challenging the world which are already known
1.Lassa Virus
2.SARS-coV-2
3.Nipah virus
4.Ebola
5.Chikungunya
6.H5N1 Influenza
7.H7N9 Influenza
8.Yellow fever
9.Dengue fever
Unknown diseases which have potential to become
Pandemic:
1.Tick fever
2.Brucellosis
3.Leptospirosis
4.viral diseases in cattle
5.viral diseases disease in birds
6.PPR in goat
7.Blue tongue in sheep
8.swine fever in pigs
These diseases are now exclusively in animals and potential to mutate, become Infectious to human populations if not control and eradicate by veterinarians.
Spill over Diseases and One health concept:
Around 250 viral diseases of animal origin which are zoonotic nature,already spill over from animals to humans.
It is estimated that 500000 viral diseases have potential to spread from animals to humans.
Close monitoring and reporting by veterinarians as a public health officials are the best option available to the world community to control and Eradicate these diseases.As per one health concept human health based on the animal health and environmental health,Veterinary Doctors need vital role to play to protect this world form next pandemics.
How to prevent pandemic Diseases:
Veterinary Doctors must appointed as Public Health Officers to supervise the
1.Slaughter houses
2.District,state level Animal check posts
3.Biomedical waste disposal plants
4.Railway stations
5.Airport
6.Live Animal export units
7.Exotic Animals and Birds markets
are essential to prevent transmission of zoonotic diseases from Animals,birds to human beings.Veterinary Doctors as Public health officers contribute more to the Medical Doctors in identify the zoonotic diseases in human beings.This will pave the way for prevent Pandemic diseases in humans.
VETERINARY DOCTORS IN MONITORING AGENCIES
Monitoring Agencies are essential to supervise the environmental health of cities,villages and state.
These Agencies members comprises of veterinary Doctors,human doctors,industrial experts.
Pollution control board must appoint veterinary Doctor as subject matter specialist at District level
to monitor the Animal farms, poultry farms and zoos to prevent pandemic diseases which are big threat to human society.
District food adulteration Agency must have full time veterinary Doctor to monitor the meat market,egg market,pet shops and Birds market which are the source of zoonotic diseases.
Veterinary Doctors in Research centres
Veterinary Doctors as a scientists in research centres play the vital role in Laboratory animal research and disease diagnosis.Viral,Bacterial and fungal disease organisms of zoonotic important handled by veterinary scientists during research and safeguarding the zoonotic material in laboratories.Their contributions in the zoonotic important researchs pave the way for medical scientists in diagnosis and Treatment of zoonotic important diseases of Humans.
By field vet-Dr. M.S. SARAVANAN ,B.V.Sc.,M.A.,PGDCM.,LME., Madurai
