Last week was International Veterinary Week. The main theme was “one world, one health.” “More co-operation between Veterinarians and Physicians.” Interesting and timely theme it was. It still deserves a lot of attention.
By popular understanding, this theme meant that doctors on either side of the divide (veterinary and human) needed to work closely together in order to ensure animal and human health. Many veterinary and public health concern activities were held all over Uganda.
The public lecture about the theme and the state of zoonoses (diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa) was quite interesting for me and I will share some of the information here.
There were talks on; how sleeping sickness is being stamped out of Uganda, the involvement of human medical personnel in the stamping out of sleeping sickness, the role of the Uganda Christian Veterinary Mission in Uganda and how co-operation between vets and medics is helping to save chimpanzees that have been injured by the cruelty of mankind in Uganda.
The story on cruelty on wild life, as told by Dr. Andrew Seguya, the Executive Director- Uganda Wild Life Education Centre (UWEC) was both sad and inspiring.
It is about an approximately 10-year-old female chimpanzee known as Amaanyi that lives with a group of chimps in Rwensama Forest of Western Uganda. This poor creature’s leg got trapped, broken, and shredded by a man-trap several months ago, that was set up by suspected poachers in the forest.
The chimpanzee was discovered after several days in poor state by some researchers in the forest who immediately alerted UWEC.
UWEC officials rushed to the scene and managed to rescue Amaanyi from the trap, but the bones on the lower aspects of her right leg had been shattered and part of the leg was rotting.
The officials evacuated Amaanyi to UWEC in Entebbe and quickly organised a life saving intervention. She underwent a successful surgery where the affected part of the leg was amputated and just like in humans, rehabilitation and physiotherapy was done on the chimp successfully.
The relentless fight for survival by this chimp against all odds was totally amazing. With just three limbs, she has managed to get back to her old ways and she can now climb and hop on trees like a normal chimpanzee.
It is amazing to know that the surgery and physiotherapy teams got help from human orthopaedic surgeons. Amaanyi was recently returned to the forest and her fellow chimps welcomed her back very well. Furthermore, she is suspected to be in-calf and will be giving birth soon.
Dr. Seguya further mentioned that; 1. Chimpanzee populations have severely reduced due to cruel acts by humans from tens of thousands several years back to about 5,000 currently.
2. About 15% of the chimpanzees currently in Uganda have been injured by snares and man-traps set up by people in chimpanzee habitats.
3. For the first time ever in the world, a severely injured chimpanzee was rescued, rehabilitated and returned successfully to the wild.
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