Need for Veterinary Doctors inclusion in Covid-19 Task Forces Nigeria.

Recently, the Veterinary Medical Association of Nigeria were to present a program on a private Radio Station in Ibadan. The Radio program was to commemorate the annual World Health Organization (WHO) organised WORLD TUBERCULOSIS DAY for this year 2020.

However, the program which was planned weeks ahead and widely promoted online by the media arm of the association globally was abruptly terminated by the management of the radio station.

The reason put forward by the management of the Radio Station was that there was a far more important program which was to be debuted that same day same time : The Oyo State Covid-19 Situation Room.

All efforts put forward to convince the management that the World Tuberculosis day program could leverage on the Covid-19 pandemic update; brought in at the last minute could not pass through.

The management couldn't just phantom how Veterinary Doctors could have any useful information or contribution in fighting the disease! This was despite the theory of the pandemic springing up from an unknown animal origine.

Our Public Health Desk consulting doctor Folorunsho Daodu who happens to be a Veterinary Doctor of close to 3 decade of practice blamed the termination of the World Tuberculosis Day program for the Covid-19 (instead of merger); on the very new nature of the n-Cov19 strain of the coronaVIRUS. Hardly does anybody knew enough about the disease for the public to carry along the veterinarians in the discuss.

The following week, it was reported that a Tiger in a zoological garden in the United States, a cat in Belgium and some dogs in the US had tested positive for the disease: Covid-19.

With this new discovery of the virus in domesticated animals, nothing has changed in giving the veterinarians in Nigeria the well deserved opportunity to add their enormous value to the growing search for the termination of the atrocities of the novel virus in human and the potential danger it poses should it add animal to human transmission to its already full cap of feathers of danger to human lives.

The national association of Nigeria Veterinary Doctors, NVMA along with the Veterinary Council of NIGERIA,VCN have stepped up its campaign to ensure that an earlier success come in time at finding cure for this pandemic. The healthy living of animals with man is the main priority of the Veterinary services they have said on several occasions.

In the short interview held today the 2nd day of May 2020 on a national radio Nigeria network program, the President of the association said:

"We can not under estimate the zoonotic potential of the virus, so we are still researching" - Dr. Aisha Baju, PRESIDENT Veterinary Council of NIGERIA, VCN .

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©RadioNigeria Network News 10pm, 2/5/2020