Role of Veterinarian in Public Health and Wealth Creation

The role of Veterinarian is to provide better health care activities and management of livestock and also plays a vital role in increasing productivity and profitability of livestock and poultry. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) slogan ‘One Health Concept’ linking human, animal and environment is gaining importance in the present day context of rapid urbanization and climatic changes. It is a worldwide strategy for expanding inter-disciplinary collaboration of medico’s and veterinarian’s in the eradication of new and re-emergence diseases of human and animals. This will help in bringing about preventive animal health care for the 21st century and beyond by accelerating and expanding the scientific knowledge down to the rural masses With zoonosis being the linkage between human and animal, it is important to recognize the importance of sound animal health for the public health. Collaboration efforts in containing zoonosis amongst various stakeholders is important i.e. including school children, college students and local communities/NGO’s are of paramount importance in the eradication of economic livestock diseases. This will result in a more effective and sustainable organization of public health reducing the risk of zoonatic diseases such as Rabies, Anthrax, Avian Influenza, Brucellosis and emerging zoonatic disease as Ebola virus, Bovine spongiform encephalopathy etc.Reason for emergence of this zoonatic diseases outbreak are multiple consumption of meat, improper dumping of dead carcass /offal etc. that serve as reservoirs for breeding ground of various disease agents. Of the newly indentified zoonatic pathogens most are RNA Viruses. The sheer magnitude of the numbers of viral particles that must be confronted is staggering. Given the enormity of the number of emerging viruses as well as the challenges of drug resistant bacteria, the veterinarian and the public must work together to better understand and contain them. As million of human and animal lives hang in balance. It is incumbent upon and indeed the duty of enlightened veterinarian to come up with combined synergistic actions to solve the ever increasing much needed solution for production and improved health care system. Quote: “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animal are treated and managed “- Mahatma Gandhi. Veterinary Hospital Kohima.