Veterinary staff at the grassroots level with disease prevention work

Considered as the “extended arm” of the livestock industry, over the years, the grassroots veterinary staff has played an important role in advising, preventing, and controlling epidemics. Despite many limitations in support mechanisms and a small workforce, they have still fulfilled their duties well, becoming companions and supporting livestock farmers to confidently invest in production.

Veterinary staff of Tri Nang commune (Lang Chanh) vaccinate cattle at the facility.

Under the hot summer sun, we had the opportunity to follow Mr. Ngan Van Xuan, a veterinary officer of Tri Nang commune (Lang Chanh) to Nang Cat village to guide farmers on how to prevent heat and vaccinate their livestock. Going through the rocky roads together, we understood the hardships of the veterinary workers here. While walking, Mr. Xuan recalled the peak days of disease prevention and vaccination against lumpy skin disease in buffaloes and cows: “Being a veterinary officer in the lowlands is already hard, but in mountainous communes it is even harder because the area is large. Many times, I had to go from early morning to villages and hamlets, to each household, to disseminate, mobilize, and deploy. Many households did not understand the danger of the disease, and they still raised their animals by grazing, so I had to notify them in advance, or had to wait until the evening when the buffaloes and cows returned to their barns before I could vaccinate them. Many households went to work so they were not often at home during the day, and had to wait until noon or evening when they returned from work to vaccinate their buffaloes and cows. At that time, lumpy skin disease in buffaloes and cows occurred simultaneously in many localities, so I did not dare to be subjective or negligent. Taking advantage of the morning, noon, and evening to do it was the only way to achieve high efficiency in vaccination.”

Accompanying Mr. Xuan to Mr. Ha Van Canh's farm, just as the buffaloes and cows were returning to the barn, he quickly got to work. While working, Mr. Xuan shared: "In the past, people did not vaccinate their livestock because they were afraid that their children would stop eating and grow slowly... Understanding that mentality, we went to each house to propagate and explain the benefits of vaccination, giving examples of livestock and poultry dying from disease so that people could see the harm of not vaccinating and being negligent in disease prevention. Up to now, most people have understood and agreed, so each vaccination period has been more favorable."

The practice of livestock development and animal disease prevention and control in recent years shows that the grassroots veterinary network has been operating quite effectively, from disease prevention to guiding people in caring for livestock and poultry, applying science and technology... For example, in 2021, lumpy skin disease in cattle occurred in the province, after only 6 months, Thanh Hoa was one of the first provinces in the country to announce the end of the epidemic. Or outbreaks of African swine fever, H5N6 avian influenza... were also quickly detected and promptly handled. Thanh Hoa is also one of the provinces with the highest vaccination rate in the country...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, a veterinary officer at the Agricultural Service Center of Trieu Son district, said: "Currently, the district has 34 veterinary officers in communes and towns. This is the core force, directly participating in propaganda work, guiding people to implement measures to prevent and control epidemics in livestock and poultry; vaccinating; controlling and suppressing epidemics; guiding people to raise animals in a biosafety direction... In addition, veterinary officers also participate in slaughter control, veterinary hygiene inspection, food hygiene and safety; guiding the implementation of regulations on mandatory disease prevention for animals, buying and selling animals, animal products... With dynamism, creativity and enthusiasm in their work, the team of veterinary officers has gradually changed backward farming practices, helping farmers access science and technology and be aware of disease prevention and control.

Currently, most communes have only one veterinary officer but they hold multiple positions. Some communes lack or have titles but do not have expertise, which makes it difficult to proactively prevent and control epidemics, especially in responding to and zoning out epidemics. To improve the effectiveness of the commune-level veterinary staff, especially in disease prevention and control, localities and the agricultural sector need to integrate funding sources to increase support levels and reasonable remuneration so that veterinary staff can feel secure and dedicated to their work; invest in specialized equipment so that the grassroots veterinary network can perform its assigned tasks well. At the same time, strengthen training, coaching, improve professional qualifications, skills and transfer new scientific and technical knowledge to the grassroots veterinary team.

Article and photos: Le Ngoc

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/can-bo-thu-y-co-so-voi-cong-tac-phong-chong-dich-benh-217534.htm