Guwahati: An orientation program on the ‘One Health’ approach was successfully conducted on Tuesday at Mahi Miri Conference Hall in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve.
As per the World Health Organization, “One Health is an integrated approach that aims to balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems”.
The approach has gained popularity post the Covid pandemic and the importance given to zoonotic diseases.
The program was jointly organized by the Assam Forest Department, WWF-India, Assam Veterinary & Veterinary Department, and Collage of Veterinary Sciences.
A total of 30 veterinary officers from Golaghat, Sonitpur, Biswanath Chariali, Nagaon, and Karbi Anglong districts along with the veterinarians associated with the Kaziranga National Park and CWRC participated in the program.
Dr Sonali Ghosh, Field Director of Kaziranga, highlighted the importance of high biodiversity areas such as Kaziranga that help keep diseases and pests in check.
Wildlife areas can serve as control and surveillance centres for disease outbreak patterns and also for solutions, she said.
Amit Sharma from WWF-India introduced the concept of One Health.
Dr. DK Sarma, Senior Consultant of the National One Health Program for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses (NOHPPCZ), funded by the National Centre for Disease Control under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, spoke about zoonotic diseases and its monitoring need and facility.
Dr. N.N. Barman, Head of the Microbiology Department at the College of Veterinary Science, stressed the importance of disease surveillance, testing, and investigative procedures.
Dr. Biswajit Dutta, Associate Professor of Pathology from CVSC discussed about Necroscopy/post-mortem study and procedures to be adopted.
Lastly, Dr. Debabrata Phukan, Veterinary Officer from State Assam Zoo and Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury, Centre Manger-CWRC, North East Head Vet, Wildlife Trust of India, conducted a session on Wildlife Management that included protocols to be followed for field procedures as well as tranquilization procedures.
Arun Vignesh, DFO of Kaziranga National Park, proposed more programs to facilitate information exchange and address concerns, promoting a One Health approach in the state.
Veterinarians found the program highly valuable, as nearly 90% of participants stated that ‘One Health’ was a new concept for them and this was their first exposure to the subject.
Although they have been contributing to the process as part of their regular duties, this program has underscored the need for improved approaches and increased collaboration to ensure a healthy animal population in their respective areas.
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The programs aimed to identify gaps and generate ideas to develop strategies for the effective implementation of a one-health approach across the state.
