KOCHI: The Covid-19 pandemic has brought attention to the concept of ‘One Health’, which recognises the interdependence of human and animal health. Many microbes infect both animals and humans as they share the same eco system. In this scenario, livestock healthcare gains more significance. Keeping this in mind, a mobile veterinary hospital and pet saloon were recently started. The facility is being operated by Kudumbashree’s Alangad ABC unit. The concept of a multi-speciality veterinary hospital on wheels was put forward by Priya Prakashan, a veterinary nurse, livestock inspector and lab technical assistant with 11 years of experience.
“During my work with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, I was involved in the survey of poultry and livestock farmers. Animal health service delivery is a major challenge many of them face. Transporting livestock to hospitals is often difficult considering road traffic and lack of vehicles large enough to carry them. The alternative of calling a veterinarian home too has limitations, including portability of medical equipment,” said Priya, who has been the part of Alangad unit of ABC project since 2018. This prompted her to explore the possibility of a fully-equipped hospital.Soon, she submitted a proposal before the ‘Agri Clinic and Agri-Business Centre’ entrepreneurship programme of NABARD and MANAGE, Hyderabad, held at Kerala Agriculture University.
Many facilities
The mobile hospital has 10 staff, including two veterinary doctors. It is equipped with facilities for disease diagnosis and treatment, besides an operation theatre, scanning and laboratory facility. They also provides services such as cattle insemination, pregnancy testing and pet grooming. “We are waiting for scanning equipment and laboratory settings. But the operations have started during the lockdown on an emergency basis to cater to the needs of the livestock farmers,” Priya added.
Significance of a clinic
Many of the healthcare emergencies that we faced in recent times have animal origins. Diseases such as bird flu, Kyasanur forest disease and African swine flu (pig fever) have direct links with animals while Nipah and Covid-19 have been confirmed to be zoonotic diseases. “The outbreak of such diseases might see a rise in the future due to climate change,” said Giggin T, assistant professor, Kerala Agriculture University and Priya’s mentor.
According to the World Organisation of Animal Health, 60 per cent of existing human diseases are zoonotic. Five new human diseases emerge every year, of which three are zoonotic. “Almost 75 per cent of emerging human infectious diseases have an animal origin. Such a situation warrants a robust livestock health care at the grassroots,” he said.A strong network of healthcare services is advantageous to local farmers. “Use of technology such as scanning to ascertain pregnancy in goats can be a time saver,” he said.