Dr Mudasir Bashir Gugjoo
Across the globe, every year World Veterinary Day (WVD) is celebrated on the last Saturday of the April, and this year it falls on the 27th April, 2024. The theme for the WVD is proposed by the World Veterinary Association (WVA), a representative body of the veterinary associations and organizations. The body actually furthers the interest of the ONE HEALTH by collaborating with the world organizations of Health (WHO), Food and Agriculture (FAO) and Animal Health (WOAH/ OIE). WVA mainly focuses to highlight the veterinary field and realize its importance in ensuring the health, food security and safety and the economy for all by demonstrating the interconnectedness of the animals and human lives and the environment. Veterinarians (Vets) due to their nature and diversity of the clientele ought to be highly flexible and resilient to offer viable, multifaceted and innovative services. Their job profile does not restrict only to the animal healthcare management rather much more. To draw awareness about vet profession and its professionals and their role in the society, WVD is being celebrated every year since 2021. In order to encourage the efforts from the vets across the globe, WVA along with World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) started World Veterinary Day Award being given every year since 2008.
This year WVD-2024 theme “Veterinarians are essential healthcare workers” provides an opportunity to highlight and celebrate efforts put-in by the veterinarians, veterinary associations and others related. As clearly mentioned in the theme, the essentiality of the vets job make it meaningful for their role in the healthcare services. The contemporary roles of the vets go far beyond the prevention and treatment considering the world as the global village. Vets have a substantial role in safeguarding and advancing human and environmental health and wealth as well, although this role is less recognized in the society. Broadly, vets play a significant role in promoting animal health and thereby that of the human and environment, the animal food safety and security and the economy.
Vets as healthcare workers: Vets’ foremost services are related to the health of animals. This healthcare measure is taken either through preventive measures or by direct therapeutics and research after proper diagnosis. The animals whether pets or livestock populations are essential to our society. Vets generally are specialized in animal sciences or veterinary sciences post their basic veterinary and animal sciences curriculum (Bachelors of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, BVSc & AH). In this part of the world, both veterinary sciences and animal husbandry make part of the curriculum in a 5 and a half year degree programme, although in European/ American countries and in many Asian countries, DVM degree is awarded which is equivalent to the veterinary sciences and focuses over the diagnostic and therapeutic part only. Animal husbandry part of the BVSc and AH degree awarded in India has an additional curriculum of the management aspect. Such a curriculum makes vets advantageous to manage the livestock and pets through breeding, feeding and heeding.
Vets have a diverse clientele that includes livestock, pets, birds and wild and zoo animals. There is a need for diverse scientific knowledge that in addition to ensuring health for these dumb creatures (Animal welfare), also need protection from them. These animals pose a big challenge whether through their behavior or their diseases to the general population. As such vets not only treat them for their diseases but control them whenever required (Wildlife vets). The later part is getting significant with passing time as there is encroachment into the forests that disturb environment of the wildlife. These animals now enter the human habitations and are therefore a great threat to the humans (Human-wildlife conflict). Coming to the diseases, animals suffer from infections that around 70% are emerging and have zoonotic potential. Prevention and control of the emerging infectious diseases in animals by vets is a big challenge that additionally safeguards humans (Public health vets). Besides the infectious diseases, there are large number of ailments as also seen in humans like diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiac ailments, etc. that requires advanced therapeutics options that poses challenges to the vets (vet research scientists). Vets are well acquainted and qualified in animal physiologies and anatomies and play a significant role in the translational human medicine (Proof-of-therapeutics). This helps to develop drug, vaccines and regenerative medicine based therapeutics. These professionals make a good reserve force in case of emergencies as is recently demonstrated in the COVID-19 pandemic. The clinical and paraclinical veterinary staff is laced with the knowledge and equipped with the advanced diagnostic machinery and techniques that bear fruits in case of emergencies (Disaster management).
Animal food safety and security and human health: There is ever growing demand of the food and population explosion has led to its shortage. Vets by preventing diseases in animals and maintaining the proper health can ensure sufficient animal food. They can help to develop animals with good production and reproduction potential. A national mission is to produce calf-a-year to reduce the inter-calving period. Regarding the healthcare of humans, vets also focus over the specific type of food from the animals. Milk from some animals have some specific proteins (casein A1) in it that are not suitable for some people and efforts are put to reduce such proteins by producing the genetically modified animals. Animal food whether milk based or meat/ chicken is considered a nutritious with good health benefits. Besides, the food shortage there is need for safe food as well. Here veterinary sciences as well as the animal husbandry knowledge is required that can ensure sufficient and safe food. Since the food, whether milk based or meat/chicken, often gets infected it is imperative to ensure its safety. The vets through prevention and treatment means can make it possible. Vets make good animal food safety officers and thereby can ensure safe and healthy food for humans. They can check milk adulteration, infections in milk and meat and also ensure the proper slaughter and interstate transport procedures. In this part of world utilization of such services from vets remains poor. Vets are much valued for their diverse knowledge in the field of toxicology, epidemiology or ecology. Such a knowledge has great applications in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of environmental diseases affecting humans and animals (Vet epidemiologists and Vet toxicologists).
Economy and human health: Healthcare expenditure, whether on humans or animals, poses a significant economic burden. Prevention and control of diseases can bring down such an expenditure. This also safeguards the national repository of healthcare facilities. Animals in healthy state are used as transportation and therefore provide means to reach to destinations located in far flung areas where only air transport has a reach. Animal games like horse polo and horse racing make a good sport that fetch lot of the money. Ensuring the healthy and thoroughbred horses by vets provide lot of economic support to those involved. Vets are focusing to reduce the expenditure on keeping male animals (bulls). Artificial insemination (AI) has helped in reducing the number of male animals required for fertilization. Natural bull mating poses threat of disease transmission and utilizing AI brings such a threat to almost nil. Focus is also made over reproducing the female calves only and this is possible only by developing latest technologies. Recent technology of sex sorting has helped to produce only female calves and thereby reducing the economic burden on the farmers and bringing down the food competition.
In short, vets and their profession has a great impact on the society whether through healthcare services, food safety and security or the economy. It’s high time that this profession and its professionals are upgraded and their services be given ‘essential’ tag and are treated and utilized in letter and spirit.
Dr Mudasir Bashir Gugjoo, Assistant Professor, SKUAST-K.
(Note: Ideas are my personal and not endorsed by the Institute I work-in)