Treatise on a Vibrant Veterinary Cover for Kosovo

The animal husbandry in Kosovo is predominantly dominated by the small farmer with limited land ownership coupled with resource crunch.

Thus it is logical that in order to derive optimal output in this environment a grassroots policy has to be developed that encompasses the establishment of a sustainable animal health care setup, that does not necessarily aim at high technology endeavours to treat morbidity and mortality in livestock as a large scale fire fighting operation , but concentrates more on disease prevention, surveillance and adoption of astute animal management practices at the farmer level. It is obvious, taking into account the present situation in Kosovo, for the time being at least, there is no concrete argument on which we can base our operations on economically sapping operations, that mainly rely on high technology, when there is a paucity of resources.

At this pregnant juncture in which Kosovo stands, the decisions and actions of the Veterinary policy makers, would have far reaching ramifications on the foundation and future shape the animal health setup would take, in the times to come. It is evident that the steps that are taken now would decide whether the Veterinary establishment would be used for the optimal benefit and economic empowerment of the common man or would turn out to be a fuel guzzling white elephant.

Instead of relying solely on the costly system of disease investigation treatment and control, it would be more prudent to formulate, implement and inculcate the policy of disease surveillance, monitoring and prevention. Biotechnology & molecular biology may be very pivotal in animal health , but are highly expensive, keeping in view the present situation, therefore these facilities could be developed at a later date.

The prevalence of FMD ,before the war, in Kosovo was not due to lack of high technology Veterinary care but was more attributable to failure of timely vaccination, or improper vaccination. This fact further buttresses the view that it is prudent animal husbandry practices that need to be taught to the farmer rather than going to battle against the Quixotic windmills with high technology intervention , that would not augur will for this nascent country which is at crossroads.

In the same vein, fundamental precautions like good cow shed hygiene, adopting teat dipping and dry cow therapy can to a certain extent combat mastitis, which has been statistically proven to have caused massive financial strains on the small and marginal farmer of Kosovo. Periodic administration of antihelmintics can prevent sustained monetary drain due to morbidity that ultimately leads to loss of production.

Proactive veterinary extension would prove to be a cost effective and strategic force to provide useful information to the farmer to effectively alleviate the economic harm caused by diseases by taking preventive measures. Thus it is obvious that it is not costly high tech procedures that are needed for the upkeep of animal health in Kosovo, but it is the basic information that is disseminated to the farmer.

Nations in this particular stage, that fail to lay the sheet anchor foundation of veterinary extension, become economically backward because the diffusion of technical information does not diffuse into the small farmer community, and so this sizable community remains poor, which has a direct effect on the economic health of the society at large.

The veterinary extension organization should be used as a force multiplier to educate the farmers about the cost effectiveness of simple steps that can prevent financially debilitating diseases. Therefore the fundamental three-pronged strategy should be surveillance, monitoring and disease prevention, instead of knee-jerk responses that are initiated only after the occurrence of a disease.

The veterinary establishment should not only provide health cover but also should take on the important task of advising the farmer on proper management practices including feeding and health care . There is a need for emphasis on neonatal animal management to prevent diarrhoea due to E.coli, corona and rotaviruses , that would have a effect on the future thriftiness of the adult.

Due to the fact that the small animal farmer live in small communities, raging wild fire epidemics are rare, although mycoplasmosis, parainfluenza infections and chlamydiosis do exist. Helminthiasis, coccidiosis and Johne's disease can be reduced to a great extent by good farm management practices.

The veterinary surveillance unit should inform the farmers on the preventive measures to be adopted against the commonly occurring diseases like Black Quarter, Haemorrhagic Septicaemia, and BRD . Incidence of diseases like Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Rinderpest, Babesiosis and Theilieiosis ought to be constantly monitored. Forecasting of emerging disease like infectious bovine tracheitis, Bovine malignant catarrh, Bovine viral diarrhoea, swine fever and other conditions are absolutely necessary .Regular and periodic testing of feed stuff for mycotoxins like aflatoxin and ochratoxin should be made mandatory since these can result not only in mortality, but also can cause loss of production and immuno-suppression.

The role of the animal production veterinarian is changing globally. In all developed and developing countries the emphasis is more on disease monitoring, surveillance and prevention , as a part-and-parcel of ‘herd medicine’, rather than treating individual animals. Unlike the companion animal veterinarian, the livestock vet has the responsibility of not only ensuring the animals are free from maladies, but also their production of milk/meat/wool are in no way hampered. Thus if an animal production veterinarian has cured an animal of the disease, without restoring it’s fertility/milk production, all his efforts are perceived to have gone down the drain. In livestock medicine the economic considerations are paramount. This only goes to prove that preventing diseases should be our singular motto and we should start thinking in terms of ‘mega-scale-herd-medicine.

In conclusion it is crystal clear that to have a vibrant and result oriented animal health care in Kosovo it is imperative that a tangible operative system be created so that all the relevant information percolates down to the farmer so that he can adopt cost saving disease preventive measures.

A strong , foresighted , result oriented, hard hitting veterinary health care setup would stand Kosovo in good stead in the years to come and would make this land self-sufficient and self-reliant. An effective veterinary establishment would fulfill the dreams and aspirations of all those martyrs who have given their blood for the creation of this nation.

DR SUDHAKAR NATARAJAN , Deputy Commandant, ITBP

BVSc&AH : MVSc(Surgery&Radiology)

UNMIK India"