GADVASU starts 15 days awareness campaign to mark World Zoonoses Day

The Centre for One Health, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University took the initiative to celebrate the World Zoonoses Day in a series of fortnight events. This initiative was started with an International e-Symposium on “One Health Approach to tackle Zoonoses” on July 6 under the ICAR- Institutional Development Plan-National Agricultural Higher Education Project (IDP-NAHEP). 

Dr. J.S. Bedi, Director of the Centre welcomed delegates, scientists, students and participants and mentioned that more than 200 participants registered for this scientific event. He said that 'One Health' approach encourages multiple health professionals to work together to promote the health of humans and animals. The inaugural session was presided by Dr. Inderjeet Singh, Vice Chancellor, GADVASU, Dr. RK Singh, Director (Retd.), IVRI as Guest of Honour and Dr. SPS Ghuman, Dean, College of Veterinary Science and Principal Investigator, IDP-NAHEP also as Guest of honour. 

Dr. Inderjeet Singh mentioned about the importance of World Zoonoses Day and told how such events are helpful to aware public about zoonoses and encourage budding scientists to learn from the experiences of renowned scientists. The keynote speakers included Dr. Y.P.S. Malik, Dean, College of Animal Biotechnology, Dr. Emily Jenkins and Dr. Joe Rubin (Canada), Dr. Eleftherios Meletis (Greece), Dr. Hannah Holt (UK), Dr. Pikka Jokelainen (Denmark), Dr. Peter Thompson (USA) and Dr. Paviter Kaur (GADVASU) . 

On July 7, a national Colloquium on Brucellosis was organized. Dr. Parveen Malik, Animal Husbandry Commissioner was the chief guest of this event. Dr. H.S. Kahlon, Joint Director Animal Husbandry, Punjab and Dr. D.S. Pooni, Chief Medical officer, PAU were the guests of honour. Dr. Malik briefed about the ongoing brucellosis control program in India. Dr. Inderjeet Singh, VC shared his experiences about control of brucellosis in Punjab. Dr. Rajeswari Shome (Bengaluru) and Dr. Pallab Choudhary (Izatnagar) also gave lectures to field veterinarians, scientists and students. Dr. Rajnish Sharma, organizing secretary extended the vote of thanks to the dignitaries and highlighted the importance of 'One health' as need of the hour.

On July 8, a Zoonoses awareness camp was organized to aware farmers about the zoonoses, control and prevention with special emphasis on Brucellosis control. The Centre for One Health is extending this event till July 20, and several events will be conducted in collaboration with Health Department and Department of Animal Husbandry, Punjab.