Vets must sensitise public against quacks
EDITOR—The letter about Jinja teeming with quack veterinarians published on October 24 raises important issues. There is limited knowledge about where and how one gets registered as a para-vet or veterinarian.
EDITOR—The letter about Jinja teeming with quack veterinarians published on October 24 raises important issues. There is limited knowledge about where and how one gets registered as a para-vet or veterinarian.
Secondly, there are many people who hawk and carry out specialised surgery on farmers’ animals leading to loss of those animals. As a registered veterinarian, I feel an urgent need to highlight some of the issues raised.
It takes three years and five years to graduate a para-vet and veterinarian, respectively. Upon qualification one is required by law to register with the Uganda Veterinary Board (UVB) which maintains a register of all qualified vets in Uganda.
The public should know that whenever they interact with suspicious characters hawking drugs, they should report to the local District Veterinary Officers or Veterinary Officers at the sub-county level.
Secondly, there is a need to enforce stricter controls on the marketing and selling of drugs for animal health because these eventually end up in the human food chain.
This then poses problems which manifest as increased resistance to human drugs by people.
It also affects the ability of Uganda to engage in meaningful export of animal products due to the perception by international markets that the products may be tainted with drugs.
This therefore calls for the presidents of the UVB and the Uganda Veterinary Association to formalise a campaign to ensure that citizens are made aware of the due process of registration and channels that exist for such wayward acts within the profession. Finally, this is a call for all veterinarians to embrace the associations and engage in raising the profile of the profession.
This can be done by taking part in community campaigns to educate citizens about the dangers of dealing with quack vets and long term problems that may stem from misuse of drugs.
Lubwama J. Kigozi. Tygerberg, South Africa
Secondly, there are many people who hawk and carry out specialised surgery on farmers’ animals leading to loss of those animals. As a registered veterinarian, I feel an urgent need to highlight some of the issues raised.
It takes three years and five years to graduate a para-vet and veterinarian, respectively. Upon qualification one is required by law to register with the Uganda Veterinary Board (UVB) which maintains a register of all qualified vets in Uganda.
The public should know that whenever they interact with suspicious characters hawking drugs, they should report to the local District Veterinary Officers or Veterinary Officers at the sub-county level.
Secondly, there is a need to enforce stricter controls on the marketing and selling of drugs for animal health because these eventually end up in the human food chain.
This then poses problems which manifest as increased resistance to human drugs by people.
It also affects the ability of Uganda to engage in meaningful export of animal products due to the perception by international markets that the products may be tainted with drugs.
This therefore calls for the presidents of the UVB and the Uganda Veterinary Association to formalise a campaign to ensure that citizens are made aware of the due process of registration and channels that exist for such wayward acts within the profession. Finally, this is a call for all veterinarians to embrace the associations and engage in raising the profile of the profession.
This can be done by taking part in community campaigns to educate citizens about the dangers of dealing with quack vets and long term problems that may stem from misuse of drugs.
Lubwama J. Kigozi. Tygerberg, South Africa