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Pig medicine for practising vets: an exercise in population medicine
Author(s) -
Carr John,
Howells Mark
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2042-7689
pISSN - 0263-841X
DOI - 10.1136/inp.i5421
Subject(s) - biosecurity , animal welfare , population , medicine , welfare , alternative medicine , veterinary medicine , family medicine , nursing , environmental health , pathology , political science , ecology , law , biology
This article explores the skillset required by a veterinary surgeon when dealing with population medicine problems in pigs. As with any clinical examination, the clinician needs to adopt a systematic approach. A systematic, consistent and disciplined approach to population medicine is essential to allow a veterinary clinician to form an objective assessment of the enterprise and, thereby, ensure that the health, welfare and wellbeing of the animals, stockpersons, farmers and owners are optimised. To illustrate the approach, this article focuses on six areas: biosecurity, animal flow, medicine controls, environmental medicine (water, food, floor and air), the animals themselves, and the people working with and caring for the animals.