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During spring break of 2002, I traveled to the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil along with four other veterinary students, four veterinarians and webpage designer from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Drs. Corrie Brown and Bruce Hollett were the leaders of our intrepid group. In Belo Horizonte, we met up with five veterinary students from Texas A & M University College of Veterinary Medicine. | ||
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We were in Belo Horizonte to attend the Second Annual U.S.- Brazil Workshop in Global Animal Health sponsored by the Department of Defense National Security and Education Program (NSEP). The American veterinary students met with our Brazilian counterparts for a joint investigation of brucellosis, clostridial diseases, leishmaniasis, and salmonella DT104 (links to the Warkshop website are below). I was especially excited about the trip because I had a great time on a previous visit to Brazil about two years ago. However, my previous trip to Brazil did not afford me a glimpse of life as a veterinarian in Brazil. I was interested in learning more about the similarities and differences between our cultures. |
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After traveling for close to 14 hours, we arrived safely at the dormitory buildings of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. The dorms were newly built to house students with financial constraints. | ||
| The next day we were taken by our Brazilian hosts for a quick tour around several landmarks in Belo Horizonte capped off by dining at a churrasco style restaurant with a gorgeous view of the Brazilian countryside. |  |
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| Afterwards we were taken to a horse show, where we had an opportunity to tour the stables and observe the horse and riders warm-up and compete in the events. |  |
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| I learned that Brazilian students take an examination after high school to see if they get accepted into a college program. Those students that gained acceptance into Escola de Veterinaria normally spend five years in the program before they graduate and can practice veterinary medicine. This is a huge difference from the U.S. system, in which students first take undergraduate courses for 2-4 years and then once accepted into a veterinary program must complete four more years before they can practice veterinary medicine. | |||
| Monday: In the morning, we were picked up from the dormitories by a chartered bus and taken on a tour of the UFMG Pampulha campus. We were taken to the Central Library where we toured their collections from famous local writers. Afterwards we were taken to the Reitoria where representatives of UFMG held a reception in honor of the partnership between the U.S. and Brazil, which allowed for this particular international exchange program to exist. After the reception, we went to the Escola de Veterinaria (School of Veterinary Medicine) and were given a lesson on how to develop web pages by our talented web designer Lois. We were divided into four groups that consisted of American and Brazilian veterinary students. Each group was assigned a topic and worked on developing web pages in English and in Portuguese. | |||
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Later in the evening we were taken to a dance club by our wonderful Brazilian hosts and learned how to samba! | ||
| Tuesday: We were taken on a tour of a working dairy farm. This particular farm specialized in raising Zebu and Holstein crosses. This particular cross produced cows that possessed the best qualities of each breed. Like the Zebu, the crosses were hardier and more tolerant of the heat. Thanks to their Holstein genes, they also produced more milk than the pure Zebu cows. |  |
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| I was pleasantly surprised to see that this particular facility has a free stall system, which is an intensive management system that allows the cows to move freely around the enclosure. Instead of the traditional system where each cow is tethered to a stall, this new system provides freedom of movement and better welfare. |  |
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| In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to tour several laboratories in which they were working on research projects. At UFMG, they had a very unique concept. The Animal Science department was part of the Veterinary school. In the U.S. and most other universities in Brazil, the Animal Science departments are not affiliated with the Veterinary school. At UFMG, they believed that this was a good way to foster and promote a good working relationship between animal scientists and veterinarians. Both are striving towards a common goal, a healthy and productive animal. | |||
| In the pathology laboratory, our host Renato de Lima Santos introduced us to visceral leishmaniasis. We had the opportunity to examine gross lesions produced by the organism and handle fresh specimens. |  |
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| Afterwards, we went back to the computer lab and worked on our webpages. My group worked on Brucellosis. | |||
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Wednesday: Today we toured a slaughterhouse and had to dress up in an all white outfit. For those that did not have white clothes, we were given clothes to wear. We also had to wear white helmets and white rubber boots. Before we were allowed to enter the slaughterhouse, we had to disinfect our boots and hands. I saw how pigs were slaughtered and how the meat was processed from the carcass. As you can imagine, these were some pretty graphic scenes. | ||
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Dr. Brown talked with everyone to see how we were doing. This simple act of kindness and concern made me feel much better. Needless to say, this was an eye-opening experience for someone who has never seen ananimal slaughtered. Along the assembly line, there were veterinarians at specific check points that examined the carcass for gross signs of disease. Our next stop was the meat processing plant. Again we had to scrub our boots and hands before we went inside the building. We saw the carcass unloaded from the trucks and saw how the meat was cut,processed, packaged and stored. Again, there were veterinarians at certain check points to oversee the process. |
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Thursday: In the morning, we were taken on a tour of a beef ranch Lagoas de Termes, which kept herds of Gir cattle along with herds of different Gir crosses. It was an amazing place! On the way back to Belo Horizonte, we stopped for buffet lunch. Needless to say we feasted like kings! | ||
| Once back at Escola de Veterinaria, we were taken on a tour of the facilities. I was amazed to find out that they did not have veterinary technicians. Unlike the U.S., the role of a veterinary technician did not exist. The veterinary hospital actually employed medical nurses to assist the veterinarians monitor and care for patients. | |||
| Friday: We started off the day with a brief ceremony to present everyone with certificates of participation in the workshop on Global Animal Health.We also extended our thanks to our wonderful Brazilian hosts with tokens of appreciation, namely University of Georgia T-shirts and baseball caps. |  |
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| Afterwards, we went to Ouro Preto, which was a historic gold mining town. On the way there, our Brazilian friends sang a birthday song for Josh, my classmate. In return, we taught them the UGA school cheer. We had the opportunity to tour one of the historic churches. Then we did some more sightseeing and shopping in the lovely town. The atmosphere of the town and beauty of the architecture made it a truly memorable experience. | |||
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After we returned from Ouro Preto, we went out and celebrated Josh’s birthday and our last night in Brazil. The night was filled with dancing, singing and even belly dancing! Then very next day we left Brazil with heavy hearts. We had such a wonderful time learning about diseases, a new culture and language. We made many new friends, which made the experience all the more worthwhile for me. This was a fantastic experience and I encourage anyone interested in expanding their horizons to participate in this program. | ||
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The Second Annual U.S.- Brazil Workshop in Global Animal Health was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense National Security and Education Program (NSEP). This wonderful program enabled veterinary students to travel to various parts of the world and introduce them to different cultures and growing public health issues. As the foreign market expands and globalization reaches out to all parts of the world, it becomes very apparent that veterinarians do and will continue to play an important role in international trade. With an increase in importation of livestock, the risk of introducing a foreign disease to U.S. soil also increases. However, through programs such as this, we are educating future veterinarians and raising their awareness of the possible threats that are brought into this country. This program also promotes the development of a mutually beneficial working relationship between foreign countries, such as the U.S. and Brazil, and enlists their assistance in the fight to stop the spread of foreign diseases. |
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Second
Annual U.S.- Brazil Workshop in Global Animal Health |
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