Diary of a Conservation Veterinarian in Brazil.

Yesterday was Good Friday, a public holiday, and it was a bad day to be dabbling in conservation veterinary medicine.

Good Friday and Easter in Brazil are bigger than the moon landings in terms of public interest.  Everything closes, including access to the local university veterinary hospital.  I went there yesterday in the morning and it was like Checkpoint Charlie. I had agreed with one of the undergraduate veterinary medicine students to teach her the principles of falconry and avian veterinary medicine.

A week last Wednesday one of the veterinary hospital residents was introduced to me at the small animal clinic where I am working in town. I was itroduced to him and my interest in wildlife issues and wildlife conservation medicine mentioned.  I gave him my details and two days later Steph contacted me.  I have been going to help every working day since.

Normally access to the university is easy, there being two access roads into the campus.

Both were blocked yesterday with huge offending orange bollards.  Being British, I can usually get past security in most situations  Don't ask me why.  But I think confident body language and an authoritative tone of voice helps.

Then of course the hospital was shut and there was a wait while he opened up, quite reluctantly I thought.  We managed to get as far as the corridor before getting stopped short at the locked door to the wildlife sector.  My colleague then called the person with the keys and there was a wait while she arrived.

We were not alone.  There were several interns and two patients,  one a permanent one and the mascot of the veterinary hospital, a Red-Legged Seriema, Cariama cristata, an amputee.

Red-Legged Seriema, Cariama cristata. The left pelvic limb had been amputated at the distal portion of the tarsus.

This was the closest I had been to a Red-Legged Seriema, although they are common and widespread in the interior of Mato Grosso.

But we were here for the Pearl Kite (see previous post). On Thursday we had taken this bird in hand and kitted it out. Ths means removing the bird from its clinical quarters and putting falconry furniture on it, ready to apply the principles of falconry training to its rehabilition.  For me, this is conservation veterinary medicine applied to raptor rehabilitation.

Pearl Kite/Gaviãozinho/Gampsonyx swainsonii, on bow perch.

The bow perch in the photograph is fitted with synthetic grass as a simple prophylactic measure against pododermatitis.  Another name for pododermatitis is bumble foot.  Captive raptors maintained in inappropriate conditions with unduiatble perches can develop bumble foot.  Wild raptors hsve n infinite choice of perch to choose from in nature and so pressure on the foot is alleviated.  In captivity, even in a veterinary hospital, perch choice is limited and so this is one example of how falconry training can aid the recovery of raptors.

See you next time.

Parasitology Pages. Screw-worm Myiasis. A Case in a Dog Canis familiaris

Screw-worm larvae, Cochliomyia hominivorax.  At ca 10 mm  long, these were about to pupate.

As an ecologist, I am meant to view all animals with an objective eye and, usually, with a positive sense of wonder, not unusually accompanied by feelings of joy.  Admittedly, the joy usually only comes when seeing a mammal, snake or bird of prey.  Otherwise I just get a sense of wonder.  However, even I, a naturalist to the core, do occasionally have reason to draw the line.. There are even times when I give myself permission to feel revulsion at certain members of the natural world.  One of these is Tiger Leeches (Haemadipsa picta), which I removed from various selected parts of my anatomy more times than I care to mention when in Danum Valley, Malsysia, in 1997.

The other is the Screw-worm larva, several specimens of which can been seen in the photo above.

A short-haired pointer (a breed of dog) was brought into the clinic today.  Physical examnation revealed a swelling on the distal left thoracic limb.  The dog was taken to the infirmary and the area cleaned.  A blood sample was taken for blood work.  I gently inserted rat-toothed forceps into the hole in the swelling and removed the larvae one at a time.  Each time they came out wriggling.  The dog was being restrained all the time in right lateral decubitus (on its right side) by a veterianry nurse whilst I removed the maggots. They are the larvae of the familar blue-bottle fly, which lays its eggs on the margins of wounds in domestic animals.  

I had dealt with this parasitic infection before, but in wild species.  Once in the right wing of a Blue-and-Yellow Macaw Ara ararauna and Silvery Marmoset Callithrix argentata.

Trânsito Cuiabano. Lifestyle pages. Terrible Driving Conditions

Note the vehicle below the tree on the right - parked on a roundabout immediately in front of a maternity hopsital!

Former Monty Python actor Michael Palin once referred to the city of Bogota in Colombia as the most dangerous city in the most dangerous country in the world.

I have spent time in many parts of the world.  Mauritius, Israel, Seychelles, Malaysia, Belgium, Germany, Colombia, the USA, Brunei, Madagascar, Eire, Scotland, England and Brazil.  And I reckon that if you can drive in one of Mato Grosso's main cities, you cn drive anywhere in the World.
I drive around my adopted city a lot.  On a busy day I spend four hours in the car.  I am at the busiest phase of my life, after all. I have seen driving conditions decline over the last decade.  When i moved here there was hardly a car on the road.  Now, with credit having been made available by the government there are considerably more cars on the road - and more casualties.  Cuiabá now has a 'Placar da Vida' on Avenida Reubens de Mendonça.  It records the number of days since a fatal accident has occurred.  Yesterday it read 13 days.  Sounds like something out of the film 'The Ring', doesn't it?

One of the consistently worst junctions is the roundabout in from of the 'Femina' maternity hopsital.  There is a school next door and congestion is bad at peak times.

Also, at any time of day you can see cars and motorcycles taking a chance and driving the wrong way around the roundabout in order to save 16 seconds.  People also park illegally on chevrons every hour of the day and night.

If the driving conditions on this roundabout were not a consistent public health issue I would not include these details here.  Avoid the area at peak times if you can.

Dog Blog. My Pet Dogs Are Fighting. What Should I Do?

This is for anybody concerned that their beloved pet dogs are not getting on. 

In the last three months I have acquired two puppies.  My Siberian Husky bitch, Bela, is four months old, and Mac, my Belgian/Black and Tan German Shepherd cross is three moths old. He is twice as high as her at the shoulder, and twice as long, but she is the dominnat one.  It is good to have more than one dog for socialising purposes, But it can be painful to watch them fight for hierarchy. 

Mine were not sure of each other at first, but slowly they grew to accept, even play, with each other.

Meal times (three a day), are still fraught with squabbles, but I stand supervsiing.  Bela will snarl and growl and snap at Mac as she tucks into her chow, They both have separate food bowls.  When she has taken the edge off her appetite, Mac can generally get access to his bowl.  I should add that Bela tries to commandeer both food bowls.  And bearing in mind that dog digestion takes four hours, I can generally control their appetites so that they are not famished.  Plus, dogs are reactive, not active, over their masters: I mean that if ignored they will quieten down, but love to, and must, be played with. But when they are hungry, they are obviously more active in their search for food.  

In summary, meal-time relations are improving between Bela and Mac, and they are fighting less. As Mac gets bigger, the dynamic between them may change and the fights will disappear.  They are not bad fights; there is no injury; these are squabbles for dominance, and they will ease with time and tender loving care.

Gaviãozinho/Pearl Kite/Gampsonyx s swainsonii. Fauna Cuiabana. Cuiaba Basin Fauna Project Pages (CBFPP)

Note dark eyes.  These will lighten as bird matures.

Pearl Kite/Gaviãozinho/Gampsonyx swainsonii

Note horizontal barring on breast and chestnut washing on ear coverts

If there is one thing I love as a naturalist, biologist and veterinarian, it is seeing a new species for the first time.  I don't mean seeing a species new to science.  I can't see myself having that privilege, somehow.  But a species new to me.  That always makes my day.

I have travelled the World in search of 'ticks', as twitchers say.

This week I was seeing practice at a veterinary clinic in a major city in Mato Grosso state, Centra Western Brazil.  It was late in the day, and I was sat in Reception which was the only part of the clinic where the air  conditioning was switched on.

A Resident at one of the local Vets' Schools was introduced to me.  He said he had a colleague interested in falconry.  I gave him my number and a coule of days later she contacted me.

When I last wrote my series of  Cuiabá Basin Fauna Project Pages (CBFPP) these were as a result of the research I was carrying out for my dissertation.  That was handed in some months ago (I qualified as a vet). Today I went to see her work and hearof her proposals.  They turned out to be similar to my own of some years ago when I was a licenced raptor rehabilitator under Brazilian law.  That is, to rehabilitate and release raptors into the wild.

At the veterinary hospital there was the Pearl Kite (see above) and a male Roadside Hawk.  We decided that the Pearl Kite was found as a healthy chick and brought into capitvity (you almost never get a history with these cases). It would likely be a prime candidate for fitness training using falconry techniques and release.

We decided to record some physiological parameters.  We recorded the bird's weight.  Pearl Kites are the smallest raptors in the Neotropics.  We recorded the heart rate (almost at the limit of perception) and respiratory rate.  We managed to record the cloacal temperature and this was high.

On Monday we will measure head width prior to making a hood.

Reference

Ferguson-Lees, J. and Christie, D.A. Raptors of the World.  Helm. 2001.  London.

Trânsito Cuiabano/Lifestyle: Road Safety in a Brazilian City

If you can drive safely in Cuiabá, you can drive safely in anycity in the World.  But that's just my opinion as a World traveller.

This blog is not intended as a political statement.  I have no interest in politics and understand it even less.  However, being a blogger brings with it some reposnsibilities and since politics controls our lives it pays to pay attention to it.  

Having just come in from rush hour morning traffic, it has struck me again how problematic driving in Cuiabá is.  On the main arterial route of Avenida Rubes de Mendonça protesters are puttung up signs about the latest political scandal.  Two nights ago there was a traffic jam on Avenida das Torres.  A woman had been hit by rush hour traffic and was lying apparently unconscious whilst civilians controlled the traffic.

And half an hour ago there was an accident outside the Associação dos Municípios Matogrosseses.  A lady was lying half on the road and half on the pavement.  

In Cuiabá, don't drink and drive: you'll spill it.

On Aggression in Dogs. Canina Cuiabana/Dog Blogs

This is of interest to anybody wishing to understand the body language of a dog about to turn aggressive on you.  So it applies to dog owners, farmers, veterinarians, veterinary nurses, veterinary students, veterianry nursing students, trainers, boarding kennel staff and, of course, the curious.

Yesterday I was carrying out a physical examination on a dog.  Today I was gently restraining one whilst its adbominal dressing was changed.

Veterinary support staff, veterinarians and anyine involved in handling these wonderful animals risk their hands, forearms and faces if a dog turns on them.

So it is vital for your peace of mind to be able to 'read' a dog's behaviour, its body langauge, cynology, ethology.

So here are the signs, not necessarily in sequence.  Watch for the ears.  They will swivel around so that the 'ear hole' - the external auditory canal - follows your movements.  The hair along the back, on the nape and up on to the head will rise - that is, the dog will raise its hackles.

Next, the dog raises its lips to expose its teeth.  It may start to growl.

The above may be observed when the dog is being restrained on the operating table in the consulting room.

I have also seen dogs on the floor in the consulting room and asked the vet I was at that time shadowing - at the end of Vets' School and on Extra Mural Study in my native Wales, how to identify aggression in an anxious dog.  The patient that comes to mind is the one that put its tail between its legs and retreated into a corner of the consulting room, then turned to face the veterinarian and started to lick its lips.

So these are some signs to look for to avoid getting hurt by a dog.

But how to approach a dog?  One of the tens of thousands of gems I took away from Vets' School was to talk to the dog soothingly as you approach at a crouch - just as you would an unhooded falconry bird on a block or bow perch.  Slowly reach out the to flank, talking all the time, and offer a few tentative strokes and then gradually work your hand forward to the head.

Reference:

Fossum, T. W., Dewey, C. W., Horn, C., Johnson, A.L, MacPhail, C. M., Radlinsky, M., Schultz, K. S. and Willard, M. D.  Small Animal Surgery.  Fourth Edition. Elsevier Mosby, 2013.

Canina Cuiabana/Dog Log: Care of Neonates

The puppies were five minutes old and felt cold to the touch.  I picked them up one at a time and massaged their thorax vigorously with a towel. I placed my stethoscope into my ears for the umpteenth time and listened for the heartbeat.  And for the umpteenth time I felt relieved.

"Congratulations" rung in my ears again and again and I turned in my crouching position and saw Rafael, a young bespectacled Brazilian veterinary colleague with several years' clincal experience and friendly manner, looking at me and smiling.

Last time I wrote it was to comment on a one day course on ethics and responsibilities that all veterianrians graduating in Mato Grosso have to attend.  Its importance is that it culminated in me receiving my vet's card, giving me official recognition as a vet by issuing me with a number.

They were born by Caesarian section.  It was the first surgery I was participating in since last October, when I finished my Extra Mural Study at Wern Vets on the other side of the World in my native Wales. Since then I had completed my dissertation - see 'Cuiaba Fauna Project Pages', defended it at oral test, applied for a Residency at God knows how many places in Cuiabá, then started today at a clinic in order to gain further clinical experience in small animal practice.

I enjoy surgery in all species.  The veterinary market requires you to specialise.  So I must admit to being stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I want to work with wildlife, but everybody keeps telling me that I will starve to death if I insist on pursuing that dream.  I lived it for the past year and a half, as those pages show, so maybe I would have to be content with that.

Rafael passed me each puppy as he removed it from the swollen uterine horn.  The mother was deeply anaesthetised and felt nothing.

"Towel them dry and massage their thorax", he instructed.

The veterinary nurse, Elias, stepped up and syringed a drop of glucose under the tongue of each puppy.  The glucose was to provide the neonate puppies wirh an energy boost.  Under the tongue because the skin there is thin and the tongue is highly vascularised so the glucose would be absorbed  faster into the blood stream.

Massaging the thorax with a dry towel imitates the natural licking that the whelping bitch would provide the puppies with, keeping them warm and their airways clear of mucous and stimulating defecation and urination, that is, the normal functioning of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

Hours later and we returned the pups to their mother.  They were promptly rejected (ignored).  Could this have been the end of their tiny lives?

What to Expect When You're Expecting...

..... to graduate from university in Brazil.

Graduation Day (Dia de Solenisação de Formatura) began at 7am on 29th January with a rehearsal at a local hotel. That rehearsal finished at noon  Then we went to the car park and received our gowns neatly packaged from some class representative. I must admit I have selsom come across a less friendly, more insecure group of people.

The ceremony continued at 7pm with us all arriving to be gowned up.  Everything was planned down to the last detail.  We were told where, when and how to sit. Then we swore our oaths and were veterinary surgeons.

But unable to practice. First I had to register with the Mato Grosso Regional Council for Veterinary Medicine and

A month later, on 22nd February, I attended a course on the Veterinary Surgeon's role in society.  There are several jobs for which vets, and only vets, are qualified for. The course also covered ethics and morality.

At the end of the course I received my card.  In Brazil most professions are regulated by a council.  All professionals in practice have to join that council and the card serves as identification.

So I have been legally permitted to practice for eight working days.  Now I have to concentrate on getting my first year competences.