Role of veterinarian in COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

As COVID-19 is a pandemic disease and no one is untouched by bad effect of COVID-19. Along with humans, the COVID-19 epidemic has also affected animals. Not only animals but also the sector which are related with animals like meat sector, dairy sector and many others also have been affected with the COVID-19 epidemics. A veterinarian is a person who handles not only the treatments of animals but also maintain public health and social aspects which are directly and indirectly linked with the animals. When a veterinarian is trained during their degree courses, a lot of subjects are taught to him which are associated with human welfare so that he would be able to manage all the situations related to both animal and human health. This speciality can be used as an opportunity of a veterinarian in this COVID-19 era. The effect of COVID-19 on animals are very vast and veterinarians are playing a vital role at each and every step.

Role of veterinarian

• When the world was facing more difficulties during COVID-19 lockdown period, animals were not left behind. They were also facing many problems. Limited access to the veterinary dispensary and problems of transportation of animals to the polyclinic at the time of need led to a high level of morbidity and mortality of the animals. This issue was primarily faced by pastoralists who rear sheep, goats and cattle. At that time veterinarian who saved lives of many animals by giving treatment to them at their door steps. A veterinarian is not only helping with the hands but also favoring them with its communication skills. He communicated with the higher officers at very certain points to help the animals so higher authority can allow the transportation of animals in that lockdown period.
• Human confinement during lockdown gives space to animals and birds which was usually occupied by the human and their activities. Globally, it was noticed that many animals came around the human territory and spotted during the corona virus period. Deer, peacocks, monkeys, elephants, birds, dolphins, etc. were the best examples. The urban wildlife was also affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. At this time Lockdown Wildlife Tracker” app on play.google.com by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was the great initiative to witness the real-time data using an app to share comfortable wildlife movement in human restricted zones (Wild Life Institute of India, 2020). The field data confirmed some positive effects on wildlife conservation, such as an increase in species richness in temporarily less-disturbed habitats, a higher breeding success of an aerial insectivorous bird, and reduction of road-killing of both amphibians and reptiles. It was a great step that was committed in the presence of the veterinarian team of wildlife institute of India.
• As lockdown and physical distancing measures are enacted, more people are staying home, while restaurants and most markets are closed– both vital food sources for stray animals! The effect on stray animals is devastating as most are finding it increasingly difficult to find food. The intake of animals abandoned at shelters is also increasing day by day, either with the mistaken belief that animals can pass on COVID-19, or that the virus has left owners unable to care for them. At that time veterinarian came forward to treat the stray animals. A couple of veterinarian showed their love for stray pet animals and they made a tie between various NGOs so this step could be fruitful. Stray pets were adopted and given food for basic requirements.

• Veterinarian and their teams provide important animal and public service surveillance to prevent disease outbreaks including zoonotic diseases. They ensure food security by ensuring that only healthy animals and their products should enter in the food supply chain. Either its dairy sector or meat sector both sector were handled by skilled veterinarian in this COVID-19 era. When the rumours were created about the poultry meat and eggs that COVID-19 is also spreading through these products, huge loss was happed to the meat sector. This time the veterinarian who confirmed that COVID-19 was not spreading through poultry meat and eggs and recreated their value again.
• A skilled veterinarian plays an important role in the society as an extension agent. Various government policies were empowered to adopt measures for the protection of the population and ensure the provision of healthcare, including measures to ensure the basic provision of medicines, protective equipment, and laboratory diagnostics. In this scenario a veterinarian played a significant role in elevating awareness of village population about pandemic diseases and the importance of social distancing and individual self-protection roles and  farmers need credible information, tips, and advisories to continue their practice. The ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute has developed comprehensive advisories on various facets of safe and hygienic milk, meat, and egg production as well as handling and marketing to deal with lockdown situations.
• The veterinarian has willing to work in various environments– Work as a public health vet can involve office work, lab work, and extensive field work. veterinary Services supported Public Health services to meet the extraordinary surge in demand for diagnostic testing of human samples for SARS-CoV-2 by making available appropriately equipped and competent veterinary laboratories. The skill of public health veterinarian was very useful during COVID-19 as they helped the society as a medical doctor by doing diagnostic test (RT-PCR test) for COVID-19. Additionally, Veterinary Services can provide expertise in the fields of epidemiology, risk assessment, training and risk communication. At this time when the 2^nd wave of COVID-19 is affecting vigorously the whole scenario and is on its peak, the veterinary facility can be used for diagnostic purpose and veterinary hospital’s lab, research institutes under veterinary can be used with the skill veterinarian. Another one thing is there that mass vaccination programme is running in the whole country and still need to be fast, the veterinarian service can also be used for vaccination schedule.