Animal health and the

community
Dr.Kedar Karki
Rabies (mad dog disease)
 Rabies is a disease of dogs, foxes, wolves,
hyaenas and in some places it is a disease of
bats which feed on blood.
 The disease is passed to other animals or to
people if they are bitten by an animal with
rabies. The germs which cause rabies live in
the saliva of the sick (rabid) animal.
 This is a killer disease but not every dog
which bites is infected with rabies.
Rabies
 disease of the brain affect all animals humans.
 It is transferred through the bites of rabid
(sick) carnivorous animals .
 dogs, foxes, wolves, hyaenas and some
bloodsucking bats.
Rabies
 time between the bite and the first appearance
of signs 2 to 10 weeks or more. depends on
distance of the bite from the brain.
General signs of rabies
 They change their normal behaviour and behave
very strangely.

 They stop eating or drinking.

 There is no change in the body temperature.

 Male animal will try to mate (mount) other animals.

two types of the disease:
 · The furious (mad) type of the disease makes
the animal aggressive and it will bite
anything.

 · The quiet (dumb) type when the animal is

quiet and does not move.
Rabies in the dog
 Dogs show either of the two types of rabies.
 · A dog with the furious or mad type of the disease
will run around and bite anything. The eyes become
red and saliva drips from the mouth.
 · A dog with the dumb or quiet type of the disease
cannot move. It looks as if it has a bone stuck in the
mouth and saliva drips from the mouth.
Rabies in sheep, goats and cattle
 Rabies is characterised by the animals
becoming restless and excited.
 They may bite themselves and saliva drips
from the mouth.
 The most important sign in cattle is that the
animal bellows (calls) very frequently and
with strange sound.
 The animals will become paralysed and die.
Rabies in the horse and camel

 The horse will show the furious (mad) type of

the disease. It will kick and bite and show
signs similar to colic .
 The animal will die after paralysis of the back
legs.
 In the camel the signs of rabies are similar to
those shown by an animal in the rut
What to do with a biting dog

 Remember that not every dog which bites has

rabies.
 If dog is showing signs of rabies inform
veterinary officer immediately.
What to do with a biting dog
Control of rabies

 Dogs in your community can be vaccinated

against rabies. You should ask your
veterinary service about vaccination against
rabies.
 If there is an outbreak of rabies, the livestock
in your community can be vaccinated too.
Health of the community
 to be healthy we need foods such as milk,
eggs and meat which we get from animals.
The animals we keep must be healthy so that
the food we get from them is good for us.
 When animals are kept in contact with the
community, we should control where they are
allowed to go, what they drink and what they
eat.
Animals in the community
 Traditionally animals left to wander around
the roads or between the houses in a
community.
 allowed to eat whatever they can find and to
drink dirty, stagnant water.
The community's water supply and
animals

 community may get its water supply from

pond, river, spring, tank, well or borehole.
water clean and safe to use.

 Do not allow people to throw dead animals

into the water.

 · Do not bury animals near the water or allow

dung in or near it
The community's water supply and
animals
Slaughtering animals
 Animals to be slaughtered for meat should be
healthy
 slaughterhouse should be fenced off and kept
clean.
 Unusable animal organs and waste should be
buried in a deep hole.
 They should not be thrown into a river or
given to dogs.
Meat for the community
 Meat should be sold separately from other
foods
 protected from heat, flies and other animals.
 Hands should be washed before and after
handling raw meat.
 Any surfaces on which meat has been placed
and any knives should also be thoroughly
cleaned.
Meat for the community
 Meat must be sold fresh each day or dried,
salted or cooked.
 Dried or salted meat will keep for a long time.
 Cooked meat should be eaten at once or
within a very short time of cooking.
Meat for the community
 Eating raw or uncooked meat can be very
dangerous.
 Eating infected meat can cause vomiting,
diarrhoea, fever and sometimes death.
Eggs and milk
 Milk is the one animal product which
everyone uses in their food.
 It can be the source of several diseases.
 Eggs provide a good body-building food.
Chicken eggs may be eaten raw when fresh.
 Duck eggs should always be cooked before
they are eaten.
Animals and the environment
 The environment is whet you find around you.
The plants, water, soil and climate are all
part of your environment.
 Man keeps animals which are suited to his
needs and his environment.
Animals and the environment
 There is a limit to the number of animals
which we can keep in any area.
 If we ignore these facts we can have
management and health problems in our
livestock and damage to the local
environment
Different breeds (types) of animal
Different breeds (types) of animal
The number of animals kept in the
community
 We should not keep animals which are old or
barren as they will eat the feed that could be
better used for young animals.
Problems of overstocking (too many
animals)
 Animals lose weight, become sick and disease
spreads.
· Animals do not breed well and death of
young occurs.
· Overgrazing and loss of pasture, bushes and
trees occur.
· Loss of vegetation will result in erosion of
soil and loss of good land.
Why do we keep animals?
 animals provide us with:
.meat
· milk
· eggs
· wool and hair for clothing, ropes and tents
· hides and skin for leather
· bones, hooves and horn for a variety of uses.
Why do we keep animals?

 Some animals are used for transport,

ploughing and work
How good are your animals?
 · Animals die suddenly.
· Young animals are born sick or dead.
· Leg and foot problems.
· Skin troubles.
· Animals do not increase in weight.
· Livestock suffer from worms, ticks or lice.
· The udders of milk animals become swollen
and blood is found in the milk.
· Chickens stop laying eggs or die suddenly.
Keep an animal health record for
your community
Spread of disease
 Disease occurs when something goes wrong
with the body or part of the, body.
Diseases can be caused by germs, bad feed,
chemicals or injuries.
Diseases caused by germs are called
infectious diseases.
An infectious disease can spread from one
animal to another.
The spread of disease
.Direct contact between animals.
· Germs in feed and water.
· By faeces and urine from sick animals.
· By flies, ticks, lice and fleas.
· By dirty housing or shelters.
· Young and old animals become infected
more easily
Preventing infectious diseases
 · Animals, like humans, must be clean in order to be
healthy. The animal must be provided with clean
feed, water, bedding and shelter.
· Sick animals should be kept separate from the
others.
· Some diseases can be cured by drugs.
· Vaccination can protect animals against some
diseases.
· Dead animals and waste should be disposed of.
Remember:
 · The spread of disease can be avoided by good
livestock management. Keeping animals together
increases the chance of disease spreading by
contact. New livestock should be kept separate from
the others for two weeks so they can be checked for
signs of disease.
 · Avoid mixing herds. Try to keep herds separate at
watering and feeding points.
 · You should separate and isolate any animal which
shows signs of disease.