Cuba - and now for the science bit...

It's not all been lazing around on beaches....just 90%! I have had some veterinary adventures - the blog is written for Vets and Veterinary Nurses primarily but hopefully might interest others. As a result some of the language is technical and some of the pictures are of disease and surgery.

One of the reasons to come out here was to visit Aniplant-
www.theaniplantproject.org - Cuba`s only animal charity ( and Cuba has a population of 11 million)

Aniplant Clinic on Calle Principe Centro Havana

First of all I would like to thank the vet practices in and around Colchester and Ipswich who helped out with donations of drugs and equipment - namely Ark Vets,  Penrose & Partners, Colne Valley Vets,  Ryder Davies,  Kinfauns Vets and of course the RSPCA clinic in Harwich Rd

Waiting Room

The clinic is in Central Havana - Calle Principe - there are 3 main members of staff - Nora who has been rescuing and helping the street dogs of Havana for over 20 years ( she has even had the passenger seat taken out of her car to facilitate their transport!!)  Maria the receptionista who has a heart of gold and Edgar the vet  who heals the animals

Maria on Reception

Edgar Operating 

Edgar has spent time at Dick White Referrals (open 24/7 for all your referral needs :-) ) and DWR were instrumental along with Les Inglis in the US in helping to set up and equip the new clinic

Edgar and I doing an enterotomy 

The clinic is open daily but they have a vet there for ops and consults 3 days a week

I will give you a picture of what the clinic has and what it doesn't ...no criticism intended its just the way it is here....

- There is no gaseous anaesthesia - all GA is done totally intravenously - premed with ACP and then catheter placed  Midazolam iv and then Propofol to effect -  a tube is placed but they are breathing room air

Under GA - catheter and ET tube placed

No autoclave - instruments are cleaned and disinfected with a sterilising solution There are  plenty of instruments though to perform routine surgeries Sterile surgical gloves are in short supply though as are suture materials

The owners bring in their pets and stay in the waiting room while the op is done - as soon as the pet is awake they take it home - there are no admissions or kennels space

Quite a few bitch spays but Cubans don't like to have their male dogs neutered - the cojones must stay!! Bitches are spayed right flank which in Edgar's hands looks pretty simple - the muscles are distracted rather than cut to prevent seroma

Right flank incision

Uterus exteriorised

Ovary Clamped

Sewn up - home in 10! (minutes!)

A bitch spay costs £1.20 :-)

Surprisingly there are not a huge amount of cats in Cuba - stray or owned - they are very dog-centric The most common owned breed here is the Dachshund - the Cubans love them! The street dogs as you might guess are crosses

A lot of the drugs and materials we use have expired! Needs must....

There are not as many true street dogs as I thought there would be - you see quite a few dogs in the street but a lot are owned - the Cubans live life with their doors open so the dogs come and go as they please I have seen a few very ill dogs but not as many as I was expecting  - which of course is good - certainly nothing like India which was terrible for dog welfare.

Recovering after Cat Spays

Other work involves consultations for sick pets - antibiotics and nsaids are in decent supply but there is no lab work or radiography available There are not even any external vet laboratories - sometimes tests eg for export have to be sent to Spain!  The other problem is that the clients rarely come back for re-examinations so a lot is lost to follow up

Waiting for operations

Parasite control is important here fleas - las pulgas are common as you might expect - the receptionista dispenses little syringes of Frontline from a bottle she keeps at reception - Cuba being one of the few places in the world it still seems to be working :-) Jabs of ivermectin are pretty common too I have not seen any cases of infectious disease which is surprising since vaccination rates are low



So not ideal by any stretch but good work is done here, and the owners are grateful for the help as are their canine companions - that's what it's all about wherever you are in the world....

Suerte -  Good Luck to my friends at Aniplant

Below are some are the dogs and cats I saw on  my travels round this magical island