The Role of the Veterinarian in the Pantanal
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Written by: Luiz
Gonzaga Bussinati
Junior, Thais Andrade Santos, Alina Culica, Chris Faggioni |
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| The Pantanal in the
southwest of Brazil is a unique vast wetland which covers approximately
55 thousand square miles. Even though the area floods
annually, greatly reducing the area of dry land, the Pantanal still maintains
3 million cattle. Veterinarians in the Pantanal must therefore focus much
of their efforts on cattle herd health and management as well as the management
of horses and sheep. |
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| One aspect of herd health management is the control of infectious disease.
Cattle in the Pantanal are routinely vaccinated against diseases such as
rabies, botulism, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, brucellosis, bovine
viral diarrhea, and enterotoxemia. Veterinarians in the Pantanal are also
attempting to control rabies by reducing the abundance of the primary vector,
vampire bats. |
| Other infectious agents common in the Pantanal are Campylobacter,
Trichomonas,leptospirosis, and Clostridium chauvoei, as well as
the parasitic horn fly and screw worm. Farmers in the Pantanal also maintain
horse and sheep populations. Infectious diseases of horses, such as equine
infectious anemia, Trypanosoma, and pythiosis and diseases of sheep such
as Haemonchus contortus, are a major concern for
veterinarians. |
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Horn flies cause persistent irritation, resulting in decreased growth
rate |
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| Education of the farmers
in the region is an important herd management tool in the Pantanal. Farmers
in the area are educated on the importance
of vaccination to reduce the incidence of disease. This is especially important
for vaccinations against rabies. Many farmers do not vaccinate their animals
until the animals develop signs of the disease or animals have died thus
reducing the farmers’ profits. Farmers are also educated on the identification
and control of toxic plants, some of which can cause vitamin D
toxicosis. |
| Veterinarians in the Pantanal must also promote an environmental balance
between the farmer and the wetlands. One way this is done is by guiding
the farmer in the use of pesticides in the region. This helps to not only
decrease pesticide resistance, but to decrease the amount of pesticides
entering the relatively pristine environment. |
"The veterinarian must develop new alternatives that can be economically
and
ecologically possible in the region." Nilson de Barros
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