The interaction between humans and animals generates situations that require attention, as they can have an impact on both human safety and animal welfare.
To address these issues, fourth-year Veterinary Medicine students from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the Universidad Austral de Chile organized a Technology Transfer Fair in which, through stands, educational material and orientation to the public, they presented some topics relevant to the community.
David Coello, fourth-year UACh Veterinary Medicine student and member of the organizing team, explained that “this activity was prepared by the students themselves who spoke to the community about different health topics such as parasitosis, responsible pet ownership, etc.” .
In turn, Dr. Carla Rosenfeld, academic at the Institute of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and teacher in charge of the subject “Practical Technological Transfer and Veterinary Service to Society,” indicated that the objective is that “fourth year students who are In the preclinical stage they begin to feel like Veterinary Doctors, speaking from a technical point of view and that is why they develop topics that are associated with the career and we expose them to the public so that they can express themselves appropriately as Veterinary Doctors.
This activity, which was also an opportunity to promote the UACh Veterinary Medicine career through the FCV Career Promotion Office, took place on Wednesday, June 19 at the Paseo Valdivia Mall located in the city center and was open to the public from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Themes
Each group of students presented topics concerning society’s interaction with animals, addressing, for example, the transmission of diseases, the care of pets, or current legal regulations.
For example, rabies is a zoonotic disease that affects the central nervous system, with irreversible damage, therefore, it is of great importance for public health. This is how Valentina Ruiz explains it, pointing out that “it mainly affects our domestic animals and also human beings and we are informing about the importance of preventing this disease.”
The community was also informed about the generation of microplastics and the effects it has on the environment. In this regard, Angela Flores Sol explained that a plastic smaller than 5mm is considered microplastic. “Everything that has plastic will be degraded by the sun’s rays and will enter the water cycle that begins with the evaporation of the degraded plastic, condenses, then precipitates and with it reaches different bodies of water and from there to the sea”.
He added that two important concepts must be considered: bioaccumulation, which corresponds to the consumption of plastic by animals, and biomagnification, which is when microplastics enter the food chain and also become consumed by people.
Meanwhile, Fernanda Puelles was part of the group that explained the importance of taking proper care of pets, since their irresponsible ownership affects wildlife. “We have both irresponsible ownership of cats and dogs, and they are going to have an impact both through the predation of wildlife and the transmission of diseases, the disturbance or harassment that occurs when they pursue native fauna, and also the competition for the ecological niche and resources.”
Karyn González also spoke about egg handling and salmonellosis control. “We wanted to outline the biological cycle of the bacteria, how it is a source of infection for humans and the clinical picture it produces, giving some recommendations on egg storage and cleaning.”
Other topics presented by the students were parasitic zoonosis in pets, animal behavior and environmental enrichment, what to do in the face of wildlife accidents?, HANTA virus, the presence of bats, the impact of tail and ear cutting in dogs and hydatidosis.
