Districts hit by lack of veterinary laboratories

At least half of the districts in Uganda lack veterinary laboratories to handle zoonotic diseases or infections that are spread between humans and animals.This was revealed at the end of a four-month of In-service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) Cohort Four graduation of 30 veterinarians, and animal health technicians from different Districts in Jinja City on Friday.Dr David Omongoti, the ISAVET president, said there is a low level of utilisation of veterinary diagnostic laboratory services in Uganda due to inadequate facilities.“50 per cent of the district’s veterinary departments don’t have laboratories, making disease diagnosis very difficult, while 70 per cent of the existing ones are functional,’’ he said.Dr Omongoti, who is also the Lyantonde district animal husbandry officer, added: “We want to shift from assumption of the disease to laboratory confirmation.’’According to Dr Omongoti, lack of laboratories is putting the lives of Ugandans at risk of contracting diseases like brucellosis and anthrax because of late diagnosis from animals.Dr Denis Monday, a veterinary officer from Lyantonde district, said rabies, brucellosis, anthrax and foot and mouth are the major diseases that affect animals, but detecting them is a challenge because of lack of laboratories in the area.Anthrax is a bacterial infection (Bacillus anthracis), which causes sudden death in livestock, but manifests in easing blood from every opening like mouth, anus, ears, and can also affect human beings.“We cannot run any tests, but with this training, I have learnt how to use rapid diagnostic tests in the field. As a Vet, I don’t need to go to a laboratory; I can just carry my rose Bengal, a reagent for screening Brucella,’’ he said.The Minister of State Animal Industry, Lt Col (Rtd) Bright Rwamirama who presided over the graduation ceremony, said 75 per cent of infections in human beings are from animals.“I encourage you (trained professionals) to utilise the skills and knowledge gained to safeguard both animal and public health,” he said.Dr Anthonio Querido, the Food and Agriculture Organisation country representative, said the Social Development Goals reflect a one health approach, which ensures that healthy people and animals live on a healthy [email protected] Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).