Vetting in Uganda - eventually I found the cats!!

During my time in Entebbe I was lucky to be able to work with a Ugandan vet called David Hyeroba  - here he is in his clinic

 

Recovery Diet - Ugandan Style!

 David has a practice in Entebbe but to make a living Ugandan vets have to be resourceful so he has many other jobs!  He does primate work for the Jane Goodhall Institute (website) as well as studying for a PhD on the subject of TB and it's transmission between humans and chimps.  Maybe he could come to the UK and have a look at our badgers!  As well as all this he has a job in Mogadishu neutering dogs on a UN compound  - there are about 500 - so that should fill those spare moments...! Oh and he does a bit of work for Entebbe Zoo as well!

Uganda does not have a strong pet owning culture - dogs and especially cats are rare outside Kampala.  I saw 3 cats in 5 weeks!!  Dogs tend to be owned by ex-pats although the emerging Ugandan middle class are becoming pet owners too. 

I only saw a few cases as the daily throughput is not high. Many cases get presented late and can be difficult to manage.

 
David's facilities are good by Ugandan standards but still well below what we are fortunate to have in Europe.  No gaseous anaesthesia, radiography or blood machines.  Although due to his contacts at Entebbe Zoo he has access to those for special cases.  Veterinary drug availability is a bit hit and miss - a lot of human drugs are prescribed but a lot of the meds we rely on at home such as veterinary ear drops, eye drops,  liquid NSAIDs etc are difficult to get hold of. 

 

Anyone old enough to remember Healing Oil?!!

Lori's TVT

A very common tropical condition is Transmissible Venereal Tumour  (TVT) We operated on a dog called Lori to remove this vaginal mass.  Vincristine is not readily available here unfortunately - a better alternative to surgery which is awkward due to the friable and vascular nature of the tumour. Although margins are not possible the residual cancer cells inevitably left often resolve leading to a clinical cure.

 

Vascular!

Sewing up...

Resected mass

Lori arriving back home

Next day - a little pale...

But well enough to feed the pups....

As a sad post script Lori went into renal failure a few days post op.  She had been on fluids intra op but other factors may gave played a part.  She was a rescue dog from Somalia so may have had pre-existing insufficiency - she was also nursing some 5 work old puppies.  Sadly this much loved dog  was euthanased a week after the op - equatorial veterinary medicine is a tough business...

I left Entebbe and made my way up through the national parks - I passed by the Gorilla Doctor Clinic after my gorilla trek but very sadly they were out!  

The Gorilla Doctors have left the building!!

However in the the next town I found a small veterinary drug shop that advertised consultations so I asked to see the vet! The owner was indeed a vet or more correctly a para-vet.  With only one vet school for a 40 million population fully qualified vets are stretched.. Students can take a 2 year course which allows them to examine, diagnose and prescribe for all species but no surgery is allowed. 

 

Paralysed hand...

Jack stuffing his face with jackfruit!

 Just before I was due to come back to Entebbe I got a message from David saying he was coming north to examine a chimp that had been caught in a snare. This is a common occurrence in the areas where national parks border communities.  Locals lay snares to trap edible wildlife but chimps end up getting caught.  Often they are strong enough to get away but the snare can remain attached causing soft tissue damage. This was the case with Jack..  He was a wild chimp about 6 years old (they can live until about 50) who had been befriended by a young local boy.  Incredibly the boy could get within a couple of metres and liked to feed him jackfruit and that's how he got his name!

He has no problem eating though!

Local vet explaining cons of human chimp interaction

 Although David had been called urgently we found out that the injury was chronic - the snare had been on for several months.  Jack didn't use this left hand - it was held limp - likely tendon  nerve injury. However vascular supply was obviously intact as the hand was still vital.  The problem was that although the boy could get near we couldn't.. The only way to examine him would be to dart him with  GA...an intervention.. David explained to me that although darting chimps is relatively safe interventions are quite "political"  - if a chimp dies the bananas hit the fan ..and you can lose your contract ... In the end a wait and see approach was taken..

It did give the opportunity for the vets to talk to the locals about chimpanzee - human interaction.  Although it may seem quite cute at first look it can be devastating for chimp health - we share 99% DNA and with it diseases like flu, polio, measles and TB.. if this close contact persisted the chimps future was highly threatened.  Persuading local communities not to interact is very difficult however...

I headed back to Entebbe where I helped David with a few more cases.  We tested out an ultrasonic scaler that David had been given - his girlfriend's dog's teeth needed a scale - sadly it wasn't functioning.. so it was hand scaling in the end! I also castrated her guinea pig - probably a first in Uganda! 

Grace's dog's teeth

A very slow dental!!

 Facilities at the zoo....

 

Castrating Grace's Guinea Pig

 On my final day there we visited the zoo veterinary clinic to take a radiograph.. a visit made very exciting by meeting a couple of orphaned cheetahs!  They are a year old and as tall as Great Danes.. Completely tame although I did confirm that before stroking them !

Nice kitty!!

 

So a nice end to my vet adventures in Uganda - which would not have been possible without David's help - thanks so much.