EQUATOR is a periodical of
the Office for International
Cooperation of the Faciüty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University.

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and ter-
mination of subscription
please return the corrected label
to the editorial office.

This issue of EQUATOR is the first
issue of 1996, the year in which the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine cele-
brates 175 years of veterinary education
in the Netherlands (175 VET). 1821
namely was the year a State Veterinary
School was established in Utrecht,
which became the only Faculty of Vet-
erinary Medicine in the Netherlands.
1996 is also the year in which Utrecht
University commemorates its 360th
birthday. The festivities will culminate
in the week of 6-11 May, 1996. All
veterinarians who happen to be in
Utrecht that week are cordially invited
to visit the Faculty and celebrate with
us.

Your special attention is also drawn to
two symposia which will take place in
the frame of 175 VET and which will
be of special interest to the readers of
EOUATOR. On Friday, 10 May an
international symposium on world-wide
trends in veterinary education will be
organized; on Friday, 27 September
this year\'s symposium on Tropical
Animal Health and Production will be
held. This years\' theme is: \'Urbaniza-
tion: Veterinary public health
consequences\'. More information on
the programme can be obtained from
the lustrum committee, the Conspirato-
rium, P.O. Box 80.163, NL-3508 TD
Utrecht.

During this lustrum year, EQUATOR
will pay attention to the history of
(tropical) veterinary medicine. More-
over, 1996 is not only the year that we
will look backwards, it also time to
look forward, as it is the start of a new
episode in the collaboration between
the Utrecht Faculty of Veterinary Me-
dicine and what has been its main part-
ner institute in Africa over the past 10
years, the Faculty of Veterinary Science
of the University of Zimbabwe. New
challenges and opportunities are ahead
on both sides of the equator.

1996 is also a year of changes for
EQUATOR itself. Merel Langelaar
resigned from the editorial board
because her graduation is near.
Another change is, as you will have
noticed, the colour of the front page,
but the major change is that in the
future all issues of EQUATOR will be
published in the English language. The
board is of the opinion that the alterna-
ting publication of Dutch and English
editions is no longer expedient. The
main objective after all is to publish a
newsletter on veterinary aspects of
development cooperation. And as
EQUATOR is finding its way to 62
countries located on all continents, we
expect a lot of the readers benefit from
this change.

independently to a large degree. He
would assist and support me as much
as he could, but he would be quite busy
with his other commitments. Further-
more his practical knowledge of micro-
biology was limited. A challenging
prospect for me!

I spent the next six weeks with franti-
cally looking up and photocopying
literature, defining my objectives and
undertaking preparations and precau-
tions as much as I could. My plane

In February last year, Laurens Mol, a Dutch veterinarian who was at that time
working in Cairo, Egypt (EQUATOR volume 7, no. 4/5, September 1995) was on
leave in the Netherlands. He was looking for a veterinary student to carry out a
study on subclinical mastitis in the Nile delta, a region in which the programme he
was working for was active. He asked Daan Vink, chairman of the foundation
Diergeneeskunde in Ontwikkelingssamenwerking (Veterinary Medicine in Develop-
ment Cooperation) whether he knew a student who would be willing and capable
to take on such a study on a short term. quot;Well yesquot;, he replied, quot;I do, intimate-
ly!quot; Daan could spare the time, and had, as he expresses it, nothing to lose. So,
in April, 1995 he arrived in Egypt to start his traineeship in the tropics.

Geographical passion
As a child, I would take the monumen-
tal Times Reference Atlas of the World
out of my parents\' bookcase, open it
on my lap and spend hours
quot;globetrottingquot;: from Abidjan to Ahna
Ata, from Rio de Janeiro to Rangoon...
I suppose this was what is termed a
quot;formative experiencequot;. My geo-
graphical passion persisted: in the past
four years I have done a lot of work
for the Foundation DIO and I hope
very much to pursue a carreer of work-
ing in developing countries.

The study was centred on a large, pri-
vately-owned, modern commercial dairy
farm some distance to the north of
Cairo. My task was to sort out the
prevalence of the major pathogens and
the etiology of subclinical mastitis on
this farm. The study would also include
a number of small-scale local farms
with traditional management systems. It
would also be important to analyse
patterns in antibiotic resistance, as
there was a suspicion that rampant and
uncontrolled misuse of antibiotics had
led to a significant level of resistance.
Laurens warned me that I had to work

touched down on Cairo airport at the
beginning of April and I quot;estabUshedquot;
myself on the farm on which the bulk
of my research was to take place a
week later.

I was rather impressed with the farm.
It had approximately 600 Holstein-
Friesian dairy cows, and also a number
of calves, heifers and bulls. The cows
were housed in paddocks on a bedding
of loose earth; these paddocks were
partially covered to provide shade. It
was a zero grazing system, the cows
were fed on maize silage with mineral
supplements, and seasonal quot;extrasquot; such
as fodder beets. The milking parlour
was in a very good state, a lot of atten-
tion was paid to milking hygiene and
technique.

The laboratory was a different story. A
few years before another lab room had
been used. However, the veterinarian
using it had stopped his work and
nobody had taken his place. It was a
dark, dirty little place filled with broken
glass and the pungent smell of dust and
chemical fumes. A new room was being
built, but it was not yet operable. I was
to salvage the equipment from the old
lab, which was all of Eastern European
and Russian origin - the legacy of E-
gypt\'s previous political sympathies.
These had also led to a top-heavy bu-
reaucratic system which churns out a
glut of veterinarians without being able
to provide efficient and effective vet-
erinary services.

turned out (unsurprisingly) that much
of my apparatus was defective - incuba-
tors with crazy thermostats, a leaky
water-distiller, a refrigerator with faulty
wiring. It required a measure of impro-
visation to get everything to work.
However, it was stimulating to watch
this lab taking form, and preparing it
for the work that was to follow.

Meanwhile, I had struck up some
friendships on the farm. This was not
easy, as nobody had any fluency in
English. This led to a situation in which
communication resembled a sort of
cross-lingual Pictionary. But there was
a relaxed cameraderie among the men,
who were obviously very curious what
exactly I was plannmg to do. I was also
shown a lot of Egyptian hospitahty by
the owner of the farm, my host and
quot;sponsorquot; Mr. Hassan Kassem, and his
two sons Mohamed and Ahmed.

During the first weeks, I was in Cairo
regularly to try to procure the culture
media and other materials I needed.
While I was still in the Netherlands I
had been assured that these would be
obtainable. But now, to my and Moha-
med\'s increasing vexation, it turned out
that this was not the case. We spent
days criss-crossing Cairo, visiting supp-
her after suppher, but to no avail...
Finally there was no other option than
to send a fax to the Netherlands re-
questing for the materials to be sent to
Egypt by express delivery. Communica-
tion problems slowed things down
further, and I was getting very impa-
tient as my time was ticking away. At
last we received a mesage from Egyp-
tian customs that our parcel had
arrived. Mohamed and I spent ahnost a
day in getting it through customs -
sealed pots containing a white powdery
substance aroused much suspicion!

Finally, after six weeks, I was ready to
pour my first batch of plates. Almost
half of my time had gone, and I felt I
had made httle progress. However, the
advantage of the delay was that I had
ample opportunity to read up my htera-
ture, make my preparations and refine
my research protocols. After consulting
with Laurens and others at the head
office in Cairo, we decided to expand
the study to include two government
dairy farms with Holstein-Frisian cows
and milking buffaloes. Besides, we felt
that it was also important to determine
which cowside diagnostic tests for mas-
titis were the most useful and practical
ones. I was now fully prepared to
launch myself into my research.

My greatest problem in the laboratory
was contamination. 600 cows kicking up
huge clouds of dust around the lab
made quot;maintaining a sterile working
environmentquot; (as the manual specified)
very difficult. I was unable to salvage
any usable plates from the two first
batches I poured, but as my confidence
and skill (making good plates is an art)
increased, I succeeded in bringing down
the number of contaminated plates per
batch to about a quarter. I enjoyed
working in what I now considered quot;myquot;
lab: it called for a measure of planning
and efficiency, and a tight schedule.

ings, processing my data during the
afternoons and sample-taking during
the evenings. My helpers in the milking
parlour and myself became quite effi-
cient: we could sample twelve cows per
evening without any trouble. I immedi-
ately inoculated and incubated these
samples, but during the scorching sum-
mer months (there was a period when
my freshly-poured agar plates, which
sohdify at 42°C, had to be placed in the
fridge to gel properly) it was more
pleasant to work during the early mor-
ning hours and later in the evenings,
than during the daytime.

I visited the government farms four
times, on a weekly basis. The drive
through the Nile delta - which is inten-
sively irrigated and cultivated, densely
populated and very green and lush - to
these farms was quite memorable. The
conditions on the Holstein-Frisian
station were much poorer than on the
Kassem\'s farm; the milking parlour
was dirty, insufficient attention was
being paid to hygiene, milking tech-
nique and management of the herd.
From the cowside diagnostic tests I
performed I got the impression that
there was a large mastitis problem
here, although there was httle concern
about this. The milking buffaloes were
hand-milked, and what struck me
initially was that the prevalence of
mastitis seemed to be significantly
lower. My findings in the laboratory
confirmed these suspicions.

For the thh-d part of my study, I was
taken mto the httle villages in the vicin-
ity of the Kassem farm to take samples
on the very small local farms. These
generally had one to eight buffaloes or
cows of the local breed. These animals
are not only used for milking, but also
for draught power and meat. They are
typically tethered in stalls behind or
next to the farmhouses, and are fed on
roughage, Egyptian clover, rice straw
and perhaps some concentrates. As
these animals are used on the lands all
day, we did our sample-taking in the
evenings. This was not very convenient
from a practical viewpoint: taking ster-
ile milk samples by torchlight, in a
dusty staU, is not ideal! It was also slow
work: after samphng each farm, we
were abundantly treated to cups of tea,
which would have been offensive to
refuse. Although I had picked up

enough Arabic to express myself slight-
ly, it was difficult to explain to the
farmers what I was going to do to their
milk. The chauffeur who accompanied
me also spoke little English, but could
at least provide some explanation to
these farmers. These trips into the
rural villages gave me some insight into
the way of life of the people. The hos-
pitaUty and friendliness with which they
received me was striking.

The six weeks my practical work lasted
passed in a blur of activity. After this
period, I started to compile, analyse
and compare my data. I was siu-prised
to find out how illustrative the results
were. There was no significant
subclinical mastitis problem on the
well-managed Kassem farm, where
Staphylococcus aureus was the pre-
dominant pathogen. This was in stark
contrast to the governmental Holstein-
Friesian farm; here the prevalence was
gt;60% on an individual animal basis,
and Streptococcus agalactiae accounted
for the largest part of this. This is a
contagious pathogen which can fairly
easily be eliminated under good man-
agement conditions. The mastitis preva-
lence on the governmental buffalo farm
and on the small-scale local farms was
roughly similar at approximately 20%.
The etiology here was almost
exclusively Staphylococcus aureus, with
some environmental pathogens. What
gave cause for alarm was that the levels

of antibiotic resistance were indeed
excessive. An interesting fact was that
this resistance was the highest for the
pathogens isolated on the small farms;
there was apparently less control over
the distribution and usage of these
drugs here. Concerning the cowside
diagnostic tests we determined that the
California Mastitis Test was the test of
choice; an electrical conductivity test
was unreliable as the distribution of the
values of the readings varied per popu-
lation group, and a pH-indicator test
was insufficiently sensitive to be very
useful.

Despite the initial problems, which I
suppose were inevitable, the study
yielded the kind of results from which
concrete conclusions could be derived.
I was extremely thankful for this. The
whole experience is one I look back to
with a lot of satisfaction! I learned not
only to implement a microbiological
field study, and some epidemiology, but
also the politics and tactfulness
required to bring this kind of operation
to a successful conclusion. And, very
important, I learned different aspects of
the Egyptian, Islamic and Arabic cul-
ture.

On 24 November, 1995, the last signature, the one of the Head of the Delegation
of the Commission of the European Communities in Zimbabwe, was placed under
a new Link Service Contract between the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the
University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and a consortium of the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine of Utrecht University (UU) and the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural
University of Copenhagen (KVL). The Link Service Contract covers a period of 2
years and is financially supported by the European Union (EU) with an amount of
just over ECU 1,3 miUion. The link project is part of an EU support programme
(under the Lomé IV Convention) of ECU 9,1 million over a period of 4 years for
the Faculty of Veterinary Science in Harare.

From the start of the establishment of 1982, UZ has received substantial sup-
port from the EU for constructing and
equipping the veterinary faculty. More-
over, support was provided for the
training of academic and technical staff,
as well as the means to invite visiting
lecturers and external examiners. The
faculty has developed very well and
provides veterinary training for students
from the SADC region. The veterinary
education has a duration of five years
and is of good academic standard. Em-
phasis in the final years is on veterinary
problems which hamper rural deve-
lopment in the southern African region.

veterinary faculties of Harare and
Utrecht exists since 1985. Moreover,
the collaboration between the veteri-
nary faculties of Utrecht, Harare and
Maputo is an important component of
the long-term commitment of Utrecht
University to focus its international
collaboration on universities in the
southern African region.
In 1994 the EU support for a luikage
project between Harare and Utrecht
came to an end. However, the autho-
rities of the University of Zimbabwe
realizing the benefits of a linkage pro-
ject with a European veterinary institu-
tion, included again a request for a
linkage project in their application for
a grant from to the European Develop-
ment Fund. A restricted tender pro-
cedure for the link contract was
started. Six veterinary schools located
in Denmark, Germany, Portugal, the

Netherlands and the United Kingdom
were selected by Harare and were
requested to apply for the contract.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of
Utrecht University joint hands with the
Royal Veterinary and Agriculture Uni-
versity of Copenhagen and formed a
consortium which presented a proposal
for the Link Service Contract with
Harare. The contract was granted last
November to this consortium. More-
over, it was agreed that opportunities
for other European veterinary schools
to participate will remain open.

The project includes two longterm
experts positions; candidates from
Utrecht in herd health and from
Copenhagen in animal production were

The main entrance of the
Faculty of Veterinary
Science of the University
of Zimbabwe (Photo:
Otter)

submitted with the tender proposal.
They were accepted by UZ and will be
based for 2 years in the Department of
Clinical Veterinary Science. Further
support for teaching and for collabora-
tive research will be through short-term
exchange visits (up to 6 weeks) of UZ
academic and technical staff to Utrecht,
Copenhagen and elsewhere in Europe
and vice-versa. Fifteen collaborative
research projects, mainly on veterinary
problems in relation to smallholder
farms, are part of the project. The EU
support for Harare also includes staff
development in the form of fellowships
for study for higher degrees at Euro-
pean Universities. To complete the
broad scope of the collaboration, sup-
port is provided for the purchase of
teaching materials. For the first time
exchange of undergraduate students
between Harare, Utrecht and Copen-
hagen will be an integral part of the
link project.

This section contains vacancy announcements which the editorial board considers
to be of possible interest to Dutch veterinarians. Besides vacancies that will be
taken from Vacatureblad Internationale Samenwerking, Tijdschrift voor Dierge-
neeskunde, Veterinary Record, Intro vacatures (RPD Advies/ Ministry of Internal
Affairs) etc., there will be room for personnel advertisements. For further
information about the vacancies please contact the institution or company directly.

Pan American Health Organization (Vacancy Notice Nr. 95/PAHO/44;
(PAHO)nbsp;Post Nr. 5957)

At the Division Disease Prevention and
Control (HCP) of the PAHO in Marti-
nez, Argentina (INPPAZ).

programmes in food protection. Pro-
moting and developing international
cooperation with the goal to establish
unified hemispheric efforts to prevent,
control and eliminate major zoonoses.
Organizing and promoting activities to
strengthen national laboratories for
microbiological and chemical residue
analysis of foods. Organizing and pro-
moting activities to strengthen food
safety education and inspection pro-
grams. Directing activities to organize
and develop international surveillance
systems for food-borne diseases and
major zoonoses and to provide related
information to member countries.

Cooperating with governments of mem-
ber countries in the design, planning
and execution of proposals for soliciting
external financing for research and
field activities in food safety, animal
health, and veterinary public health
programmes. Coordinating with the
intersectoral programmatic committee
of Argentina, all activities regarding the
technical and administrative actions of
the Institute as they pertain to the pro-
gramme of technical cooperation to the
host country. Representing the Pan
American Health Organization, at all
times, in a manner compatible with the
integrity and leadership expected from
its officers.

An M.D. or D.V.M. from a recognized
university with postgraduate training to
the master\'s degree level in Public
Health, Veterinary Public Health, Epi-
demiology, Food Science, or a related
field or a PhD in a field or science
related to Food Protection including
specialized studies in Pubhc Health,

At national level: ten years of experi-
ence in all aspects of administration
and implementation of food protection
and zoonoses programmes, as well as
experience in the design, planning,
execution, and evaluation of research
projects on food protection and zoo-
noses; at least six years should be as
director or other senior level position
in food protection or zoonoses control
programs.

At international level: five years of
international experience providing tech-
nical cooperation in food protection
and zoonoses. Very good knowledge of
Spanish and English.

Salary per annum net of taxes (grade
P 5). With dependents US$ 57,806
post adjustment US$ 34,221 hard-
ship/mobility US$ 2706. Without de-
pendents US$ 53,611 post adjust-
ment US$ 31,738 hardship/mobility
US$ 2030.

Smokers may not wish to apply since
PAHO/WHO\'s working environment is
smoke-free. We encourage applications
from women. Applicants will be con-
tacted only if they are under serious
consideration.

Scientific publications of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and other research institutes in The Netherlands, relevant to
livestock production and health in the tropics as well as titles of papers by Dutch veterinary scientists working on animal
health and production topics in relation to developing countries, will be included. Please inform the editor of your
publications so we can bring them to the attention of the readers of EQUATOR. For reprints contact the authors directly,
their addresses can be obtained from the editorial office. Copies of the \'Abstracts of the 6quot;quot; Symposium on Tropical Animal
Health and Production. Helminth diseases of ruminants: diagnosis, epidemiology and control. 6 October, 1995, Utrecht\' can
also be obtained from the editorial office.

Ba, S.B., Udo, H.M.J. and Zwart, D. (1996). Impact of veterinary treatments on goat mortality and offtake in the semi-arid area of Mali. Small Ruminant
Research 19: 1-8.

Boer, G.F. de, Roozelaar, D.J. van, Moormann, R.J., Jeurissen, S.H.M., Wijngaard, J.C. van den, Hilbrink, F. and Koch, G. (1994). Interaction between
chicken anaemia virus and live Newcastle disease vaccine. Avian Pathology 23: 263-275.

Otter, W. den, Hill, F.W.G., Klein, W.R., Everse, L.A., Ruitenberg, E.J., Ven, L.T.M. van der, Koten, J.W., Steerenberg, P.A., Faber, J.A.J. and Rutten,
V.P.M.G. (1995). Ocular squamous cell carcinoma in Simmental cattle in Zimbabwe. American Journal of Veterinary Research 11: 1440-1444.

Terpstra, C. (1994). Hog cholera. In: Infectious diseases of livestock with special reference to southern Africa. Eds, J.A.W. Coetzen, G.R. Thomson and
R.C. Tustin. Oxford University Press, Cape Town, Chapter 66, pp. 654-657.

Terpstra, C. (1994). Nairobi sheep disease. In: Infectious diseases ^ livestock with special reference to southern Africa. Eds. J.A.W. Coetzen, G.R.
Thomson and R.C. Tustin. Oxford University Press, Cape Town, Chapter 72, pp. 718-722.

Eysker, M. and Ploeger, H.V. (1995). Value of present diagnostic methods for gastrointestinal nematode infections in ruminants. In: Abstracts of the 6*
Symposium on Tropical Animal Health and Production. Helminth diseases of ruminants: diagnosis, epidemiology and control. Eds. R.W. Paling and
J.H.A. de Gooijer, Utrecht, 6 October, 1995, Utrecht University, Utrecht, pp. 15-16.

Schallig, H.D.F.H., Moyo, D.Z., Leeuwen, M.A.W. van, Hulscher, H.I. ten, Kolk, S.M., Verstrepen, B.E., Kooyman, F.N.J., Aar, W.M. van der, Hendrikx,
W.M.L., Eysker, M., Bemadina, W.E., Boersema, J.H. and Comelissen, A.W.C.A. (1995). Recent developments towards immuno-diagnosis and
immunization against Haemonchus. In: Abstracts of Jhe ^ Symposium on Tropical Animal Health and Production. Helminth diseases of ruminants:
diagnosis, epidemiology and control. Eds. R.W. Paling and J.HA. de Gooijer, Utrecht, 6 October, 1995, Utrecht University, Utrecht, pp. 17-21.

Kruip, TA.M., Boni, R., Wurth, Y.A., Roelofsen, M.W.M., Pieterse, M.C. (1994). Potential use of ovum pick-up for embryo production and breeding of
cattle. Theriogenologv 42: 675-684.

Jongejan, F., Kok, J.B. de, Weide, M. van der and Oliveira, C. d\' (1994). Diagnosis of Theileria annulata infection in carrier cattle and Hyalomma ticks by
PCR and development of an ELISA based on a recombinant 30 kDA merozoite surface antigen. In: Proceedings _of jhe European Union third
coordination meeting on Tropical Thcileriosis. Antalya, Turkey. Eds. R. Spooner and J. Campbell. The Roslin Institute, Roslin, pp. 59-63

Kock, N.D., Vliet, A.H.M. van, Charlton, K. and Jongejan, F. (1995). Detection of Cowdria mminantium in blood and bone marrow samples from clinically
normal, free-ranging Zimbabwean wild ungulates. Journal of Clinical Microbiolo^ 33: 2501-2504.

Oliviera, C. d\', Weide, M. van der, Shiels, B.R., Comelissen, A.W.C.A. and Jongejan, F. (1994). Molecular cloning and expression of Theileria annulata
merozoite surface antigens for use in defined subunit vaccines against tropical theileriosis. In: Proceedings of the European Union third coordination
meeting on Tropical Theileriosis. Antalya, Turkey. Eds. R. Spooner and J. Campbell. The Roslin Institute, Roslin, pp. 140-143.

Oliviera, C. d\', Weide, M. van der, Habela, M.A., Jacquiet, P. and Jongejan, F. (1995). Detection of Theileria annulata in blood samples of carrier cattle by
PCR. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 33: 2665-2669.

Shiels, B.R., Oliviera, C. d\', McKellar, S., Tait, A. and Hyde, G. (1994). Sequence and antigenic analysis of the major merozoite surface molecule of
Theileria parasites. In: Proceedings of the European Union third coordination meeting on Tropical Theileriosis. Antalya, Turkey. Eds. R. Spooner
and J. Campbell. The Roslin Institute, Roslin, pp. 136-139.

Uilenberg, G. (1994). Significance of tick-borne haemoparasite diseases to animal health in the tropics. In: Proceedings of the FAO Expert Consultation on
ihe use _of applicable biotechnological methods for diagnosing haemoparasites. Merida, Mexico, 4-6 October, 1993, Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. Rome, pp. 7-28.

Uilenberg, G. (1995). International collaborative research: significance of tick-borne hemoparasitic diseases to world animal health. Veterinary Parasitology
57: 19-41.nbsp;-^-^

Uilenberg, G. (1995). Progress and priorities in research on heartwater. In: Program and Abstracts of the third Biennial Meeting of the STVM. San José,
Costa Rica, May, 1995. pp. 23.

Vliet, A.H.M. van, Zeijst, B.A.M. van der, Camus, E., Mahan, S.M., Martinez, D. and Jongejan, F. (1995). Use of a specific immunogenic region on the
Cowdria mminantium MAPI protein in a serological assay. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 33: 2405-2410.

Soolingen, D. van, Haas, P.E.W. de, Haagsma, J., Eger, T., Hermans, P.W.M., Ritacco, V., Alito, A. and Embden, J.D.A. van (1994). Use of various genetic
markers in differentiation of Mycobacterium bovis strains from animals and humans and for studying epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis. Journal of
Clinical Microbiology 32: 2425-2433.

First China International Annual meeting on
Agriculture Science and Technology: \'Agro
Annual Meeting China 96\'. Including: Sym-
posium, exhibition trading. Organized by:
Chinese Association of Agricultural Science
Societies and Dep. of Animal Husbandry
and Health, Ministry of Agriculture. Theme:
Animal industry and animal product process-
ing. Symposium registration fee us$ 350.
Closing date: 20 December, 1995. Location:
Beijing International Convention Centre.
Information and registration: Mr. Zhao
Weining, Dep. of Animal Husbandry and
Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Add: No.
11, Nong Zhanguan Nanli, Beijing 100026
(Tel.: 86.10.4192850, telefax: 86.10.-
4192468).

EuroResidue III, Conference on residues of
veterinary drugs in food. Organized by
Federation of European Chemical Societies
(FECS) and Netheriands Society for Nutri-
tion and food Technology. Subjects: Anti-
biotics; hormones and beta-agonists;
LC/MS/MS applications; residues in culti-
vated fish; toxic effects of veterinary drugs;
biosensors; \'bound\' residues. Registration
fee: Dfl. 625,-. Location: Koningshof Con-
gress Centre. Information and registration:
Dr. N. Haagsma, Dep. of Food of Animal
Origin, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, P.O.
Box 80.175, 3508 TD Utrecht (Tel.: 31.30.-
2535365, telefax: 31.30.2532365).

2\'^ Course on: Artificial insemination in pigs.
Subjects: Collection of semen; Evaluation
and processing of semen in the laboratory;
Insemination and sow production control;
Organization of an AI station and Selection
of breeding stock. Fees including board and
lodging: approx. Dfl. 7,000. Information: IPC
Livestock Barneveld College, Dep. of Inter-
national Studies and Cooperation Program-
mes, P.O. Box 64, 3770 AB Barneveld (Tel.:
31.342.414881, telefax: 31.342.492813, e-
mail: ipcbarvr@knoware.nl).

14quot;^ Symposium on \'The Internationalization
of veterinaiy Education. Strengths, Chal-

ienges and Opportunities\', Organized by:
College of Veterinary Medicine, The Uni-
versity of Georgia. Objectives: International-
ization of veterinary medical curricula; Com-
pare and contrast curricula from the various
world sectors; define areas of intemational
veterinary medicine important to the veteri-
nary profession; establish goals in a veteri-
nary college relative to intemational offer-
ings etc. Information: College of Veterinary
Medicine, The University of Georgia,
Athens, Georgia 30602-7372 (Tel.: 1.706.-
5425728).

Congress. Information: New team,nbsp;Via C.
Ghiretti, 1-43100 Parma (Tel.: 39.521.-

4\'^ Intemational Conference on Fertility
Control for Wildlife Management. Location:
Great Keppel Island, Queensland. Informa-
tion: Fertility Control Conference, c/-
ACTS, GPO Box 2200, Canberra, ACT 2601
(Tel.: 61.6.2573299, telefax: 61.6.2573256,
e-mail: ACTS@ozemail.com.au).

St. Albans, United Kingdom
8 July - 16 August, 1996
8quot;quot; Intemational training course on identifi-
cation of helminth parasites of economic
importance. Information: Dr. L.M. Gibbons,
Intemational Institute of Parasitology, 395 A
Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Herts AL4 OXU
(Tel.: 44.1727.833151, telefax: 44.1727.-
868721, e-mail CABI-IIP@cabi.org).

8quot; International Symposium of Veterinary
Laboratory Diagnosticians and 3quot;* Joint
OIE/WAVLD Session on biotechnology.
Information: Secretariat, VIII\'\' Intemational
Symposium of Veterinary Laboratory Diag-
nosticians, P.O. Box 50006, Tel Aviv 61500
(Tel. 972.3.5140014, telefax: 972.3.-
5175674).

19 August, 1996 - 6 June, 1997
International course on quot;Tropical Animal
Productionquot;. Organized by: Larenstein Inter-
national Agricultural College Deventer.
Entry requirements: Diploma or degree in
Animal Science and minimal 5 years relevant
professional experience. Programme: Inte-
grated approach to feed production, nutri-
tion and reproduction of farm animals; ma-
nagement of farms and farm units; farm eco-
nomics and extension approaches; farming
systems analysis; rapid rural appraisal and an
international excursion. Tuition fee: Dfl.
9,675; Board and lodging: Dfl.17,000. Closing
date: 1 April, 1996. Infonnation: Registiy
Larenstein lAi.C, P.O. Box 7, 7400 DA
Deventer (Tel.: 31.570.684654, telefax:
31.570.684608).

26°\' International course on poultry husban-
dry and 26* International course on pig hus-
bandry. Organized by: IPC Livestock, Bame-
veld College. These courses will run at the
same time. Following these courses partici-
pation is possible in the 19quot;\' Animal Feed
Training programme (AFTP), which runs
from 3 March to 25 May, 1997. Direct entry
in this last course is also possible. Fees in-
cluding board and lodging: Poultry course:
Dfl. 24,500; Pig course: Dfl. 24,500, Feed
course; Dfl. 12,000 or 14,500 (direct entiy).
Closing date: 1 May, 1996. Information: IPC
Livestock Bameveld amp;illege, Dep. of Inter-
national Studies and Cooperation Pro-
grammes, P.O. Box 64, 3770 AB Bameveld
(Tel.: 31.342.414881, telefax: 31.342.4-
92813, e-mail: ipcbarvr@knoware.nl).

3 September 1996 - 28 February, 1998
Intemational Master Course quot;Herd Health
and Epidemiologyquot;. Organized by: Depart-
ment of Herd Health and Reproduction of
the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Pro-
gramme: The Master Science course offers
an introduction to the application of
epidemiological methods specifically applied
to the field of population oriented studies in
animals. Course fee: Dfl. 15,000,- (not inclu-
ding lodging etc.). Closing date for registra-
tion 1 July, 1996. Information and registra-
tion: Office for International Cooperation,
Faculty of Veterinaiy Medicine, P.O. Box
80.163, 3508 TD Utrecht (Tel.: 31.30-
.2532116, telefax: 31.30.2531815, e-mail:
bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

September 1996 - March, 1998
MSc Animal Science and MSc Aquaculture
Programmes. These counses are designed to
impart advanced knowledge, modern
approaches in scientific research, analytical
skills and critical attitudes, to enable grad-
uates to develop animal production or
aquaculture in their own countries. Informa-
tion: Office for Foreign Students, Wagenin-
gen Agricultural University, P.O. Box 453,
6700 AL Wageningen.

September, 1996 - August, 1997
Master of Science Course in Veterinary Pa-
rasitology. Organized by: Liverpool School
of Tropical Medicine. The course is com-
posed of 3 terms: (1) Formal tuition
covering all major groups of parasites and
their vectors, (2) Some of the most import-
ant veterinary parasites are selected and
studies in depth (3) Personal research pro-
ject. Information: The joint Masters Course
Secretary, Liverpool School of Tropical Me-
dicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA
(Tel.: 44.151.7089393, telefax: 44.151.-
7088733, e-mail: Vkilliadj@liverpool.ac.uk).

Intemational Seminar on non tsetse-
transmitted animal trypanosomiasis (with the
participation of the OIE). Information: M. le
Docteur L. Touatier, 228, bd du Président
Wilson, 33000 Bordeaux, France.

7^ International symposium: Tropical Ani-
mal Health and Production. Theme: \'Urbani-
zation: Veterinary public health consequen-
ces\'. Organized by the Committee for the
Advancement of Tropical veterinary Science
(CATS) and the Office for Intemational
Cooperation of the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine of Utrecht University. Registration
before 1 September, 1996 to Office for In-
temational Cooperation, Faculty of Veteri-
nary Medicine. P.O. Box 80.163, 3508 TD
Utrecht (Telefax: 31.30.2531815, e-mail
bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

21 October -15 November, 1996.
Intemational Training Course on the Use of
Molecular Techniques (PCR, DNA Probes)
for the Diagnosis and Monitoring of the
Major Livestock Diseases. Organized by:
International Atomic Energy Agency with
the support of the FAO/LA.EA Joint Divi-
sion of Nuclear Techniques in Food and
Agriculture. Programme: (1) Introduction of
concepts of the use of PCR and DNA
probes in animal disease diagnosis and
monitoring, (2) Provide practical training in
these techniques, (3) Provide training in the
set up of a diagnostic PCR laboratory. Loca-
tion: Siebersdorf near Vienna. Application:
On standard IAEA form \'Nomination for
training course\', through the official channels
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs or UNDP
Office) to: L\\EA, P.O. Box 100, A-1400
Vienna (Telefax: 43.1.20607). Closing date:
19 August, 1996. IAEA scholarships are
available for participants from developing
countries IAEA.

17 - 22 November, 1996
W International Congress for Tropical
Medicine and Malaria. \'New goals for the
21quot;\' century\'. Organized by: Science council
of Japan, Japanese Society of tropical Medi-
cine and Intemational federation for Tropi-
cal Medicine. Information, registration and
submission of papers: Dr. Hideyo Itakura,
Secretary General 14\'^ ICTM Secretariat, c/o
The Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki
University, 1-1 2-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852
Japan.

EQUATOR is a periodical of
the Office for International
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and ter-
mination of subscription
please return the corrected label
to the editorial office.

In this issue of EQUATOR we ask
your attention for two aspects of inter-
national university cooperation. Linking
faculties in the Netherlands through
longterm collaborative programmes
with faculties in Latin America or Afri-
ca provides the means for an efficient
exchange of information, educational
methods and technologies but also for
exchange of staff and students. If such
a link is of sufficiently long duration,
and staff members develop good con-
tacts, it also creates possibilities for
collaborative research. A good measure
for a successful link is fruitful
collaborative research resulting in joint
publications and academic degrees like
MSc and PhD. The Faculty of Veterin-
ary Medicine of Utrecht University
gained experience during the last 10
years as partner in two of such linkage-
projects. In the previous issue of
EQUATOR we informed our readers
about the link between Utrecht and
Harare. In this issue we pay attention
to the link with the School of Veterin-
ary Medicine of the National University
in Heredia, Costa Rica, a link which is
approaching the end of the external
financial support provided by the Ne-
therlands\' Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The second aspect of international
cooperation is in relation to the Ne-
therlands system for obtaining the
\'Doctor\' or PhD degree. PhD-theses, as
they are defended by the candidates
are usually based on a number (5 or 6)
of recently published scientific articles
in international double refereed jour-
nals. There is no obligation that the
research work is actually conducted at
a university in the Netherlands nor is
there a need to re-write the published
articles in a special format. During a
considerable period of 1 to 5 years, the
candidate is guided and supervised by a
promoter who must be a foil professor
at a university in the Netherlands. This
system is particularly interesting for
young scientists working at research
institutes which are not universities.
Through regular contacts with their
supervisor in the Netherlands these
researchers can do their research at the
home institute, in for example Tanzania
or Ethiopia (see the article on tsetse
control is this EQUATOR), and
defend their thesis at Utrecht Univer-
sity or Wageningen Agricultural Uni-
versity, when the subject is concerned
with animal health or livestock produc-
tion.

Numerous methods have been applied
during the 20quot;^ century to reduce the
number of tsetse flies and to limit their
distribution. Sometimes with success.
However, this success was often of a
short duration due to re-invasion by the
flies from neighbouring areas. More-
over, tsetse flies are still invading new
areas where the climatical conditions
are suitable for their survival. Tsetse
control operations are relatively expen-
sive and need to be of long duration.
At present times, as we are heading
towards the 21quot; century, only methods
thaï are environmentally acceptable can
be considered for public national or
international funding. Refinement of
existing tsetse control methods, applica-
tion of combinations of the various
control methods, adaptation of these
methods to local environmental condi-
tions and community acceptance and
participation are the major issues in
tsetse control for the next decade.

Trypanosomiasis remains the most important constraint to livestock production on
the African continent. Chemotherapy, using curative and prophylactic drugs, is the
main method of control of the disease in cattle. The exploitation of the trypano-
tolerance trait of some breeds of large and small ruminants provides a solution in
certain production systems. Immunological approaches to control the disease
through vaccination are still under investigation. Only the eradication of the tsetse
fly vector can remove the treat of the disease.

By coincidence two biologists defended their PhD theses on aspects of tsetse
control almost at the same time at two universities in The Netherlands. On 19
December, 1995, Marc Vreysen from Belgium defended his thesis entitled: \'Radia-
tion induced sterility to control tsetse flies. The effect of ionising radiation and
hybridisation on tsetse biology and the use of the sterile insect technique in
integrated tsetse control\' at Wageningen Agricultural University. Three months
later, on 22 February, 1996, Stephen Leak from the UK defended his thesis: \'A
contribution to the epidemiology and understanding of tsetse-transmitted trypano-
somiasis\' at Utrecht University. In this article some of the results of these studies
will be discussed. Emphasis will be on the applications of the control measures
under field conditions at the respective study locations: Unguja island of Zanzibar,
Tanzania and the Ghibe Valley in Ethiopia. For further reading a list of references
is provided and readers who are interested in more details are invited to write to
the authors\'.

Specifically the use of the sterile insect
technique (which involves the release of
large numbers of reared and sterilized
male tsetse resulting in the disruption
of the reproduction cycle of the wild
female flies) and the use of tsetse at-
tracting targets, including animals
themselves, that are treated with insec-
ticides, are important options for con-
trol, which fulfil the environmental
requirements.

The induction of dominant lethal muta-
tions by exposing tsetse flies as pupae
or adults to ionising radiation and the
use of hybrid sterility resulting from
crosses of closely related tsetse (sub)-
species, are potential methods of ge-
netic control of tsetse flies. Marc Vrey-
sen performed his basic research at the
Entomology Unit of the laboratory of
the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) in Seibersdorf, Austria.

His work was concerned with the
effects of gamma radiation on the sur-
vival and reproductive biology of tsetse
pupae and adult flies of four tsetse
species, Glossina brevipalpis, G. fus-
cipes fuscipes, G. tachinoides and G.
austeni. These studies identified the
optimum age for radiation treatment of
the pupae as well as the optimum dose
to produce good quality sterile males.
The effect of hybridisation on the re-
productive cycle was studied using the
closely related species G. palpalis pal-
palis and G. palpalis gambiensis.
Vreysen proposes the use of the high
hybridisation capacity of these two
subspecies, in combination with radi-
ation induced sterility, for genetic con-
trol

Trypanosomiasis is a well known dis-
ease on Unguja island of Zanzibar,
Tanzania. Surveys had shown that G.
austeni was the only tsetse species on
the island. With a cattle population of
45,000 head and small scale dairy

Dr. M.J.B. Vreysen, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), URT/5/016,
P.O. Box 2593, Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Dr. S.G.A. Leak, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O. Box

30709, Nairobi, Kenya.

farming becoming increasingly impor-
tant, programmes were developed to
perform a tsetse survey, to execute a
tsetse eradication programme and to
design a reliable monitoring system.
Being a relative small island (1,600
km^), at 35 km from the mainland,
infested with only one tsetse species,
circumstances at Unguja were favour-
able to attempt an eradication pro-
gramme. Following a successful trial in
1987, whereby local animals (cattle,
goats and donkeys) were treated 5
times at 15-day intervals, with a resi-
dual synthetic pyrethroid, applied as a
\'pour-on\', an island-wide eradication
effort was started. The \'pour-on\' me-
thod was used in areas were livestock
was present and insecticide impreg-
nated screens (IIS) were placed in
areas where there was no livestock. In
this way a good level of control was
achieved but the species was not eradi-
cated from the island.

Monitoring of Giossina austeni
For the close monitoring of the G.
austeni population alternative methods
had to be developed, as tsetse of this
species can hardly be caught by stan-
dard trapping methods using the bico-
nical trap. Marc Vreysen improved the
monitoring by using sticky panels with
non-setting adhesive. He tested various
shapes, colours and adhesives and came
up with a legpanel, coloured blue on
one side and white on the other, as the
best way to monitor the fly population
before and during the control opera-
tions.

In 1983, the government of Tanzania
requested assistance from the IAEA
for the eradication of G. austeni from
Unguja by means of the sterile insect
technique (SIT). A colony of G. aus-
teni, originating from the Jozani forest
of Unguja, was started at the Tsetse
Research Station in Tanga. By mid
1990 the colony had reached a size of
40,000 females providing sufficient
excess males to initiate pilot release

Membrane feeding Is used
in most tsetse breeding
colonies (Photo: ILRI
collection)

studies on the island. The Jozani forest
reserve, in the centre of the island, is
the only remaining primary forest on
the island and is considered the main
focus of G. austeni.

Suppression of the original fly popula-
tion was required before releases of
sterile males could be initiated. As
livestock was not allowed in the
reserve, the \'pour on\' method could not
be used. Blue insecticide impregnated
screens (IIS) were deployed. After 18-
24 months of suppression by ISS the
number of flies had been sufficiently
reduced to start the release of sterile
males.

Some of the studies by Marc Vreysen
were concerned with quality assessment
of the gamma sterilised male tsetse at
three points in time: after handling in
the laboratory, during transport and
after release in the field. More than
800,000 sterile males were transported,
of which more than 90% was released
in the Jozani forest. The average sur-
vival of released flies fluctuated
between 5-7 days.

tuated mainly between 5 and 15, and
an average of 3-5 sterile males to 1
wild male was reached. Although eradi-
cation could not be expected at this
ratio, the native fly population
remained very low and a level of 16-
27% induced sterility was observed in
the females. From calculations is was
concluded that a persistent release of
higher numbers of sterile males will
most certainly culminate in the extinc-
tion of the fly on the island of Unguja.

The entomological studies by Stephen
Leak were carried out at a range of
sites forming the African Trypanotole-
rant Livestock Network (ATLN), which
was coordinated by the Internationa!
Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA) in
collaboration with the International
Laboratory for Research on Animal
Diseases (ILRAD) in Nairobi, Kenya,
(recently these institutes were joint
together under the name International
Livestock Research Institute, ILRI).
The ATLN aimed at determining the
productivity of breeds of trypanotole-
rant and trypanosusceptible livestock
raised under different management
conditions and tsetse challenge levels.
A further aim was to investigate ways
of improving production through better
control of trypanosomiasis by making

Mean monthly apparent
density (flies/trap/day) of
Gtossina pallidipes (with
standard errors), before
and after tsetse control
using the \'pour on\' method in
southwest Ethiopia (Leak et a!., 1995)

use of existing control methods and
developing new technologies. Studies in
the Ghibe valley in Ethiopia combined
chemotherapy and tsetse control by the
insecticide impregnated screens and the
\'pour on\' method on cattle.

Trypanosome infections were studied in
approximately 110,000 tsetse of 12
species or subspecies, at nine sites of
the ATLN in 6 countries (Zaire, Ivory
Coast, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia and
Gabon) between 1983 and 1994. Infec-
tion rates with trypanosomes ranged
from 0.2% (G. fuscipes quanzensis in
Zaire) to 18% (G. tabanifomiis in
Gabon). The statistical analysis per-
formed by Stephen Leak indicated that
the prevalence of trypanosome infec-
tions increased with age for both Trypa-
nosoma vivax-iYpamp; and T. congolense-
type infections. However, in G. palpalis,
G. tabaniformis and G. tachinoides the
rate of T. v/var-type infection decreased
in older age categories. Overall preva-
lences of T. viViJX-type infections were
significantly higher in female than in
male flies of four species: G. pallidipes,
G. palpalis, G. tabaniformis and G.
tachinoides. As a result of these analy-
ses it was concluded that when sterile
male tsetse are released for a SIT
programme, feeding a blood meal be-
fore release with a trypanocide, would
more effective to reduce the risk of
trypanosome transmission by these
flies, than providing a blood meal with-

quot;D
out a trypanocide, as this reduces the
changes for infection of the flies from
subsequent feeds on infected animals.

Ethiopia has approximately 27 milhon
head of cattle, which is the largest
cattle population in any African coun-
try. Eighty percent of the cattle is
located in the highlands which are
relatively free of diseases and where
cattle play an important role in agricul-
ture, The highlands are densely popu-
lated and livestock productivity is low
due to overstocking. As a consequence
there is a movement of people to
lower-lying areas. East African Zebu
cattle, which are susceptible to
trypanosomiasis, are raised in these
areas. One of the main constraints
here, particularly in the southwest of
the country, is tsetse-transmitted
trypanosomiasis. The use of trypano-
cidal drugs appears to be widespread
and resistance to available drugs is an
increasing problem,

The studies presented by Stephen Leak
were executed in the Ghibe valley in
southwest Ethiopia. The Ghibe river
flowing in its valley, later becomes the
Omo river, flowing into Lake Turkana
in Kenya. The altitude of the valley
base ranged from 900 to 1100 m. and
the valley is bounded by an escarpment
of 1600 to 2000 m. G. pallidipes and G.
fusipes were detected from 1986 to
1992, In 1989 G. morsitans submorsi-
tans was detected for the first time;
indicating the rapid advancement of the
distribution of this species upstream
into the Omo river basin. The latter
species could well become of major

The ILCA cattle
monitoring and treatment
station on the escarpment
of the Ghibe valley
(Photo: Paling)

importance for the epidemiology of
trypanosomiasis and the future human
settlement in the area. Tsetse challenge
was estimated for each species as the
product of tsetse relative density,
expressed as the number of flies caught
per trap per day, and the mature
trypanosome infection rate in dissected
flies. Study of the epidemiology of
trypanosomiasis showed relationships
between seasonal and longterm changes
in trypanosome prevalence in cattle and
tsetse challenge.

Investigations by Stephen Leak and his
collaborators demonstrated that many
animals were parasitaemic again very
shortly after treatment with diminazene
aceturate (Berenil*^) at a dose of 3.5
mg/kg body weight. A model was deve-
loped to distinguish between relapse
and new trypanosome infections.
Characterisation studies in Boran
calves with 12 T. congolense isolates
from Ghibe, showed a high level of
resistance to three different tr/panoci-
des. It was concluded that chemothera-
peutic agents would not control trypa-
nosomiasis at Ghibe and an integrated
control programme involving tsetse
control and chemotherapy was there-
fore implemented.

Two methods of control were investi-
gated: the use of insecticide impreg-
nated cloth targets and the use of pour-
on insecticide. A trial started in 1990
using deltametrin-impregnated targets.
The relative density of the main vector
G. paUidipes fell from a mean of 2.1
flies/trap/day in the 12 months prior to
introduction of the control to 0.4 flies/
trap/day in the 12 months after the
control was initiated. The prevalence of
T. congolense measured over 2 year
periods before and after the start of
the control, fell from 32% to 13%. In
spite of the high level of multiple-drug
resistance of trypanosomes, it could be
concluded that the control operation
succeeded to decrease relapse trypa-
nosome infections, which had been the
main reason for initiating the tsetse
control trial. Political disturbances
occurred in Ethiopia in 1991 and the
control operation was disrupted, mainly
because of thefts of the targets. Pre-
control levels of relative tsetse density
and trypanosome prevalence were
observed one year later and it was
concluded by Leak and his co-workers
that the use of insecticide-impregnated
targets for vector control did not
appear to be a sustainable control
methodology.

In the Ghibe valley Stephen Leak and
his co-workers started a trial with a
synthetic pyrethroid \'pour-on\' insecti-
cide, Cypermethrin, to control tsetse.
Over a 3 year period between 2,000
and 4,000 cattle were treated at month-
ly intervals at an approximate dose of 1
ml per 10 kg body weight. Treatments
were given as \'pour-on\' applications
along the backlines of animals, using
drench-gun applicators. The annual
mean tsetse relative density for G.
pallidipes was reduced from 4.3 flies/-
trap/day during 1986-1990 to 0.3 for
the period 1992-1993, a reduction of
93%. Relative densities for G. m. sub-
morsitans were low before the control
operation (0.046 flies/trap/day) but
were reduced with 83% to 0.008 flies/-
trap/day. The relative density of G. f.
fiiscipes remained very low (average
0.01 flies/trap/day) through out the
whole period (1986-1993). This reduc-
tion in tsetse challenge was associated
with a reduction in trypanosome preva-
lence in cattle from 37% to 10% (re-
duction of 74%) despite a high level of
drug resistance. Treatments with Bere-
niP could be reduced with 68%.

The cypermetrin \'pour-on\' treatment
appeared to be popular with cattle
owners in the area as farmers reported
that their cattle were disturbed less by
tsetse and other biting and nuisance
flies whilst grazing. All \'pour-on\' treat-
ment were given free of charge until
the end of 1992, when a cost recovery
scheme was introduced. From 1993
67% of the farmers continued to bring
their animals for treatment indicating
that they accepted the technique as an
effective method for reducing trypano-
somiasis, biting flies and ticks. Brent
Swallow of ILRI studied the factors
which influenced the participation of
the farmers. Distinction should be
made between private and public bene-
fits. Important factors were proportion
of cows and oxen, distance to the treat-
ment and seasonal factors.
Leak concluded in his thesis that an
integrated strategy using a combination
of chemotherapy and apphcation of
\'pour-on\' insecticides for tsetse control
enables farmers to continue livestock
production in traditional production
systems. Furthermore, this control
strategy appears acceptable to farmers
and therefore is more likely to be
sustainable.

Codjia, v., Mulatu, W., Majiwa, P.A.O., Leak, S.GA., Rowlands, GJ. and Peregrine, A.S. (1993). Epidemiology of bovine
trypanosomiasis in the Ghibe valley, southwest Ethiopia 3. Occurrence of populations of Trypanosoma congolense
resistant to diminazene, isometamidium and homidium. Acta Tropica 53: 151-163.

Leak, S.GA. and Mulatu, W. (1993). Advance of Glossina morsitans submorsitans and G. pallidipes along the Ghibe-river
system in southwest Ethiopia Acta Tropica 55: 91-95.

Leak, S.G.A., Mulatu, W., Authié, E., DTeteren, G.D.M., Peregrine, A.S., Rowlands, G.J. and Trail, J.C.M. (1993).
Epidemiology of bovme trypanosomiasis in the Ghibe valley, southwest Ethiopia 1. Tsetse challenge and its
relationship to trypanosome prevalence in cattle. Acta Tropica 53: 121-134.

Leak, S.G.A., Mulatu, W, Rowlands, G.J. and DTeteren, G.D.M. (1995). A trial of a cypermethrin \'pour-on\' insecticide to
control Glossina pallidipes, G. Juscipes and G. morsitans submorsitans (Diptera: Glossinidae) in southwest Ethiopia.
Bulletin of Entomological Research 85: 241-251.

Leak, S.GA., Mulatu, W., Peregrine, A.S., Rowlands, G.J. and D\'leteren, G.D. (in press). Use of insecticide-impregnated
targets for the control of tsetse flies {Glossina spp.) and trypanosomiasis occurring in cattle in an area of southwest
Ethiopia with a high prevalence of drug-resistant trypanosomes. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology.

Leak, S.G.A. and Rowlands, G.J. (submitted). The dynamics of trypanosome infections in natural populations of tsetse flies.
Bulletin of Entomological Research.

Rowlands, G.J., Mulatu, W., Authié, E., D\'leteren, G.D.M., Leak, S.GA., Nagda, S.M. and Peregrine, A.S. (1993). Epide-
miology of bovine trypanosomiasis in the Ghibe valley, southwest Ethiopia 2. Factors associated with variations in
trypanosome prevalence, incidence of new infections and prevalence of recurrent infections. Acta Tropica 53:135-150.

Swallow, B.M., Mulatu, W. and Leak, S.G.A. (1995). Potential demand for a mked pubHc-private animal health input:
evaluation of a pour-on insecticide for controlling tsetse-transmitted trypanosomiasis in Ethiopia. Preventive
Veterinary Medicine 24: 265-275.

Vreysen, M.J.B. and Vloed, A.M.V. van der (1990). The effect of intersubspecific hybridization and gamma radiation on the
reproductive biology of Glossina palpalis (robineau-Ddesvoidy) and Glossina palpalis gambiensis Varderplank.
Annales de la Société Belge de Médecine Tropical 70: 145-158.

Vreysen, M.J.B. and Vloed, A.M.V. van der (1992). The use of gamma irradiated Glossina austeni females as sentinel insects
for entomological monitoring in tsetse control programmes. Revue d\'elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays
Tropicaux 45: 303-309.

Vreysen, M.J.B. and Vloed, A.M.V. van der (1995). Radiation sterilization of Glossina tachinoides Westw. pupae: I. The
effect of dose fractionation and nitrogen during irradiation in the mid-pupal phase. Revue d\'elevage et de Médecine
Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux 48: 45-51.

Vreysen, M.J.B. and Vloed, A.M.V. van der (1995). Radiation sterilization of Glossina tachinoides Westw. pupae: II. The
combined effect of chilling and gamma irradiation. Revue d\'elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux
48: 53-61.

Vreysen, M.J.B., Vloed, A.M.V. van der and Barnor, H. (submitted). Comparative gamma radiation sensitivity of Glossina
tachinoides Westwood, Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Newstead and Glossina brevipalpis Newstead (Diptera, Glossinidae).
International Journal of Radiation Biology.

Vreysen, M.J.B., Khamis, L and Vloed, A.M.V. van der (submitted). Evaluation of sticky panels to monitor Glossina austeni
Newstead (Diptera: Glossinidae) populations on Unguja island (Zanzibar). Bulletin of Entomological Research.

Vreysen, M.J.B., Mramba, F. and Khamis, I. (1992). Laboratory and field observations in relation to the release of sterile
Glossina austeni on Unguja (Zanzibar) island. In: Tsetse control. Diagnosis and Chemotherapy using Nuclear
Techniques. Proceedings of an lAEA/FAO Seminar, Muguga, Kenya, 11-15 February, 1991, L\\EA-TECDOC-634
pp.: 219-230.

Wl\\en United Airlines flight 1020 took
off from Mexico Intemational Airport
heading for its final destination, the
Costarican capital of San José, my mind
wandered back to the summer of 1991.

In that summer I attended a training
course at the Royal Institute for the
Tropics in Amsterdam as a preparation
for my new job as an expert in clinical
sciences at the Veterinary School in

Heredia, Costa Rica . The training
consisted of two parts: one part on
learning the local language, i.e. Span-
ish, and a general part for everybody
who would be sent abroad in a pro-
gramme for international cooperation.
That last course was extremely interes-
ting and I still consider it the best
course I ever attended. It was given by
very experienced people who were able
to transmit their sparkhng enthousiasm
and genuine commitment to the stu-
dents. Speaking in racing terms: the
course easily beat the average academic

practical and theoretical courses I was
accustomed to by several lengths. Du-
ring the course several projects in diffe-
rent developing countries were pres-
ented, and a lot of problems, with
which either the project management
or individual team members were con-
fronted, were discussed. It was surpri-
sing to see that projects could give rise
to a variety of problems, ranging from
rather futile to really serious and even
life-threatening ones. One of the
trainers, who had seen more of the
world than all of his students together,
put it in these words: \'You will all have
a dip at some moment, most of you
after about half a year. Then you will be
lost and out of balance. The best thing
you can do is take a leave of one or two
weeks and retire to a lonely hill-side - in
almost every developing country there are
plenty - in order to find yourself again
and to redefine your attitude towards the
people and the projectquot;.
He was right of course, very right, and
it is nothing but natural that the condi-
tion of working together in a small
team, in a culturally different environ-
ment, contains all the seeds for a wide
range of conflicts. However, at that
moment I was still thinking that I
would join a well-organized project
team of a successful project that had
conquered most of Costa Rica and was
now making up its mind for the ensu-
ing contest of the rest of Central and
South America with already contacts
from the Rio Grande down to the
pampas of Argentina. Moreover, Costa
Rica could hardly be seen as a real
developing country, with living stan-
dards at about the same level as the
southern European Union states such
as Greece and Portugal. The cultural
differences could never be very great.

Dinner consisted of delicious chopped
meat with a small bottle of Califomian
red wine, so I forgot about the project
and above all about the reason why I
had started thinking of it. In fact, I had
started thinking because I had promised
my colleagues of the editorial board of
EQUATOR to write something about
the project I had been working in for two
years and that was now nearing its end.
The food was good and the wine even

better. When I woke up from my after-
dinner nap I was not surprised to hear
the captain saying that we were already
above Nicara^an territory, at an altitude
of 30,000 feet. I picked up the line of
thought about the project again and
recalled some facts.

The project started in 1985 as a coop-
eration between the Costarican Escuela
de Medicina Veterinaria (EMV) and the
Department of Herd Health and
Ambulatory Clinic of the Utrecht Fa-
culty of Veterinary Medicine and was
supported by the Directorate General
for Development Cooperation (DGIS)
of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Founding fathers of the project
were Dr. Alfio Piva in Costa Rica and
Professor Arie Brand as his Dutch
counterpart. Main goal was the rein-
forcement of the clinical part of the
curriculum at EMV with special em-
phasis on practical training. The level
of the theroretical training at EMV was
rather good, practical training, however,
was virtually non-existent. The first
three years of the project were dedi-
cated to the improvement of the clini-
cal training. Dr. Jan van Amerongen
went to Costa Rica to help restructu-
ring the clinical sector and improving
the practical training. He succeeded in
changing the curriculum, reshaping the
final year into a year of rotating trai-
neeships in large animal medicine,
large animal surgery, reproduction,
herd health and companion animal
medicine and surgery, more or less like
the system used in Utrecht. He also
invested much energy in setting up an
ambulatory clinic servicing mainly the
dairy farmers on the slopes of the near-
by Poas volcano. Jan van Amerongen
did a great job and became a well-
appreciated member of the local Fa-
culty staff. Three years after his return
to the Netherlands in 1988 he was still
remembered by a great number of
students, former students, staff and
farmers as a good veterinarian and an
excellent colleague or teacher.
Jan van Amerongen had already done
some work on herd health and the
adaptation of VAMPP (Veterinary
Automated Management and Produc-
tion control Programme) for use under
Costarican conditions. However, it was

his successor, Dr. Mees Baayen, who
gave this aspect of the project more
attention. Baayen had been working in
Mozambique in South East Africa for
quite a long time, and had, unlike Van
Amerongen, not a clinical but a more
zootechnical background. He was a
visionary man with a lot of very good
or even brilHant ideas and he worked
very hard. Despite his qualities he was
not very inclined to consider other
ideas than his own and he also
demanded the same dedication as he
had from his staffmembers. Dr.
Baayen\'s background and attitude
caused a 180 degrees turn in the direc-
tion of the project, away from the clini-
cal part towards the adaptation and
further development of the herd health
computer programme, and also led to a
violent clash with the senior members
of the local Department of Clinical
Sciences. Relations with the quot;Home
Officequot; in Utrecht became disturbed
too when one paper after another came
in proposing an extension of the project
in the field of software development,
aiming at a wide variety of quot;modulesquot;
for the original programme, and even
at the development of information
systems for use in hospitals and
libraries. quot;Informationquot; was the key
word and a wide web of information
producing stations had to be put up,
covering the whole of Spanish-speaking
Latin America.

Despite all these problems and conflict-
ing views. Dr. Baayen succeeded in
expanding the project in an impressive
way. The number of expatriates grew
constantly and rapidly with a real out-
burst in 1991 when 4 experts arrived
from the Netherlands: Dr. Jan Buur-
man, a software specialist. Dr. Ron
Dwinger, first as the would be clinician
but his position was rapidly changed
into that of Senior Research Officer,
and Drs Keverling Buisman and myself
to revive the original clinical branch of
the project. Shortly after the arrival of
these newcomers the project was evalu-
ated by an external comittee that
clashed within hours with the team
leader. Finally the committee advised
negatively on the continuation of the
project. The experts were paid by the
Netherlands\' Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, therefore they did not need to
worry for their salaries, but the funding
visit to the Corcovado National Park on
the southwestern Osa peninsula as the
unrivalled highlight. The beauty of the
vast untouched rain forest, with its
rivers with crystal clear water, its lonely
beeches, the enormous trees towering
up 60 meters or more above your head,
and the large groups of parrots flying
amidst them, is unimaginable. This is
the world as it once was meant to be.
It was not without a httle shock that I
reahzed that there was more to be
done than just enjoy this earthy para-
dise during the journey back to San
José in an overcrowded bus that got a
punctured tyre somewhere in the
mountains. That is also Costa Rica.

of the project, pre-financed by Utrecht
University, stopped rather abruptly and
no money came through while the
negotiations about the future of the
project continued. Some months later
Dr. Baayen was succeeded as team-
leader by Dr. Enrique Perez, his Costa-
rican counterpart. Pérez had just
returned to Cost Rica after a research
visit to Davis, California.
The first year of our stay my colleagues
and I had to work under these condi-
tions, until everything got more or less
settled, however, not without leaving

deep scars on many of the members of
the project.

When the captain finally anounced that
vve were nearing the intemational airport
of Juan Santamaria and the quot;fasten seat
beltsquot; signs flashed on, I already cursed
myself for the light-heartedness with
which I had promised the EQUATOR
editorial board to write an article about
the project.

Costa Rica is a lovely country and I
can recommend every lover of nature
to visit it. Because the country is part
of the small isthmus that unites the two
large northern and southern parts of
the American continent it has two coast
lines, one at the Pacific side, the other
facing the Caribbean. The climates on
those coasts are completely different,
the Caribbean being very wet, the
Pacific side hot and dry. In between is
the central plateau with the capital San
José and the other main cities. There,
the mean altitude is about 1,000 meters
and the climate is of a pleasant, some-
what mediterranean type. My wife and
I enjoyed our holiday very well with the

Dr Pérez was friendly and busy as ever
when I met him in his office. The
answer to my question whether he
thought the project had reached its
goals came without any doubt: quot;Oh yes,
I think so. Most if not all goals have
been attained. We have now over 30
farms in the herd health system in the
Tilaran area (an area with many double
purpose herds near an artificial lake
130 km northwest of San José), and
also some dairy farms in the nearby
Poas region. VAMPP is by now a wide-
ly used programme in Costa Rica and,
thanks to the courses we have provided
for hundreds of people, also in other
countries such as Panama, Nicaragua,
Guatemala and Uruguay. In the clinical
area progress has been moderate. This
was partly due to resistance to innova-
tions by some senior staff members
who did not want to change their atti-
tude. But even there some important
teaching materials have been produced.
These are still in use today and pro-

vided the students a much better basic
education in clinical disciplines than
they had so far.quot;

When I drove off, I still thought of the
words of Dr. Perez. In fact he was right,
much had been achieved. Not always in
very close harmony, but still. What he
said about some of the senior staff
members of the Clinical Department had
touched a heavily disputed topic. It
made me think of that occasion when
one of those senior staff members after a
couple of beers during some party con-
fessed his philosophy of life. His ulti-
mate aim was not to achieve the abso-
lute top in his profession, to write a lot
of scientific articles or to see as many
cases as possible. He worked to live, he
explained, and was not living just to
work. If he lived happily and well with
his family, he was all right, even without
a PhD degree or anything of the kind. It
was a way to see life. Not a western one
but at least one that was widely adhered
to in Costa Rica. It was funny to see
how people were shaped by culhiral
customs and habits. Another staff mem-
ber of the same department had done
his PhD research in Berlin and he
returned with an almost Pmssian men-
tality. The work had to be done punc-
tually in a neatly and orderly fashion.
This attitude is almost the opposite of
the common Costarican approach, so it
was not surprising that rows broke out
on a quite regular basis between him
and the rest of the staff. These were
quite interesting from a sociological
point of view, not in the least because in
Berlin he had also learned how to get
furious in the real German way.

The last visit I paid was to Dr. Alfaro,
head of the Department of Large Ani-
mal Surgery. Although I had worked in
the Clinical Department at EMV, I
remained a large animal surgeon.
Therefore, I had established contacts
with Dr. Alfaro in an early stage and
together we performed a lot of major
operations, mostly in equine, during
those years. I can still vividly recall the
moment we were operating a horse
with colic in the middle of the night. I
was just holding about 10 meters of
small intestine in my hands, when sud-
denly all the lights went out due to a
power break-down. Some people got a
few feeble torches from somewhere
and somebody parked his car with the
headlights on in front of the open door
so that we could go on. However, we
felt very relieved when the lights came
back after about 20 minutes.
Dr. Alfaro received me in his nice
house in the lovely village of Santa
Ana. He had invited some more friends
and we had a barbecue with excellent
meat. One of the special dishes was
quot;jivaquot; which is the flesh of the hump of
the Zebu cattle. It needs several hours
of preparation but after that it is really
delicious.

quot;Well, Renéquot;, he said when I asked his
opinion on the project, handing me
another can of Imperial, the leading
lager of Costa Rica, quot;I think that many
goals have been reached. Maybe not
every goal, and, perhaps more impor-
tant, maybe many goals not exactly in
the way that was foreseen by the pro-
ject management. But look, after your
return to the Netherlands already two
recently graduated vets from here have
done a practical training at your De-
partment of General and Large Animal
Surgery. That was not a project goal,
but it is, due to our good contacts esta-
blished here in Costa Rica, an indirect
consequence of the projectquot;.
I reflected that he was right. Somebody
had done a training for half a year in
surgery at our department and another
person had stayed for two months to
capacitate himself in large animal
anaesthesia. And there were two more
to come. One for surgery, another for
neonatal care and pediatrics in the
Department of Internal Medicine and
Nutrition.

quot;And don\'t forgetquot;, he continued, quot;it is
always difficult to evaluate a project
like this as there are profound cultural
differences between both parties.
Therefore it is very well possible that
the expectations of one side do not
entirely match those from the other
sidequot;.

He was right again and I remembered
the remark that had been made during
that preparation course in the summer
of 1991 that it was not that easy to
work together with a small number of
people in a project team under diffe-
rent cultural conditions. I took another
sip of my beer and enjoyed the warm
breeze that struck me when I looked
up into the tropical sky, full with twink-
ling stars.

EuroResidue III, Conference on re-
sidues of veterinary drugs in food.
Organized by: Federation of Euro-
pean Chemical Societies (FECS)
and Netherlands Society for Nutri-
tion and food Technology. Subjects:
Antibiotics; hormones and beta-
agonists; LC/MS/MS appUcations;
residues in cultivated fish; toxic
effects of veterinary drugs; biosen-
sors; \'bound\' residues. Registration
fee: Dfl. 625,-. Location: Koningshof
Congress Centre. Information and
registration: Dr. N. Haagsma, Dep.
of Food of Animal Origin, Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box
80.175, 3508 TD Utrecht (Tel.: 31-
.30.2535365, telefax: 31.30.2-
532365).

Course on: Artificial insemina-
tion in pigs. Subjects: Collection of
semen; Evaluation and processing of
semen in the laboratory; Insemina-
tion and sow production control;
Organization of an AI station and
Selection of breeding stock. Fees
including board and lodging:
approx. Dfl. 7,000. Information: IPC
Livestock Bameveld College, Dep.
of International Studies and Coop-
eration Programmes, P.O. Box 64,
3770 AB Bameveld (Tel.: 31.342.-
414881, telefax: 31.342.492813, e-
mail: ipcbarvr@knoware.nl).

29 June - 1 July, 1996
14^ Symposium on \'The Internatio-
nalization of veterinary Education.
Strengths, Challenges and Opportu-
nities\'. Organized by: College of
Veterinary Medicine, The Univer-
sity of Georgia. Objectives: Inter-
nationalization of veterinary medical
curricula; Compare and contrast
curricula from the various world
sectors; define areas of international
veterinary medicine important to
the veterinary profession; establish
goals in a veterinary college relative
to international offerings etc. Infor-
mation: College of Veterinary Me-
dicine, The University of Georgia,
Athens, Georgia 30602-7372 (Tel.:
1.706.5425728).

14\'^ International Pig Veterinary
Society Congress. Information: New
team, Via C. Ghiretti, 1-43100 Par-
ma (Tel.: 39.521.293913, telefax:
39.52 1.294036, e-mail:
IPVS96@bovet.cineca.it).

4*^ International Conference on Fer-
tility Control for Wildlife Manage-
ment. Location: Great Keppel Is-
land, Queensland. Information: Fer-
tility Control Conference, c/-
ACTS, GPO Box 2200, Canberra,
ACT 2601 (Tel.: 61.6.2573299,
telefax: 61.6.2573256, e-mail:
ACTS @ozemail .com .au).

8 July - 16 August, 1996
8quot;^ International training course on
identification of helminth parasites
of economic importance. Informa-
tion: Dr. L.M. Gibbons, Interna-
tional Institute of Parasitology, 395
A Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Herts
AL4 OXU (Tel.: 44.1727.833151,
telefax: 44.1727.868721, e-mail
CABI-IIP@cabi.org).

8\'^ International Symposium of
Veterinary Laboratory Diagnos-
ticians and 3quot;^ Joint QIE/WAVLD
Session on biotechnology.Informa-
tion: Secretariat, VIII\'^ International
Symposium of Veterinary Labora-
tory Diagnosticians, P.O. Box 50006,
Tel Aviv 61500 (Tel. 972.3.-
5140014, telefax: 972.3.5175674).

18nbsp;August - 22 November, 1996.
24\'^ International course on dairy
farming in rural development. Cour-
se programme: Introduction; Dairy
development; Farming systems;
Statistics; Economics and agricul-
tural credit; Breeding; Pasture pro-
duction; Nutrition and feeding:
Animal health; Reproduction and
AI, Extension and case studies.
Course fee: Dfl. 5,000. Closing date:
1 May, 1996. Information and regis-
tration: International Agricultural
Centre (lAC), P.O. Box 88, 6700
AB Wageningen (Tel.: 31.317.-
490111, telefax: 31.317.418552, e-
mail iac@iac.agro.nl).

19nbsp;August, 1996 - 6 June, 1997
International course on quot;Tropical
Animal Productionquot;. Organized by:
Larenstein International Agricul-
tural College Deventer. Entry re-
quirements: Diploma or degree in
Animal Science and minimal 5 years
relevant professional experience.
Programme: Integrated approach to
feed production, nutrition and re-
production of farm animals; ma-
nagement of farms and farm units;
farm economics and extension ap-
proaches; farming systems analysis;
rapid rural appraisal and an interna-
tional excursion. Tuition fee: Dfl.
9,675; Board and lodging: Dfl.
17,000. Closing date: 1 April, 1996.
Information: Registry Larenstein
I.A.C., P.O. Box 7, 7400 DA Deven-
ter (Tel.: 31.570.684654, telefax:
31.570.684608).

26 August 1996 - 27 February, 1997
26quot;\' International course on poultry
husbandry and 26quot;quot; International
course on pig husbandry. Organized
by: IPC Livestock, Bameveld Col-
lege. These courses will run at the
same time. Following these courses
participation is possible in the 19*^
Animal Feed Training programme
(AFTP), which runs from 3 March

to 25 May, 1997. Direct entry in this
last course is also possible. Fees in-
cluding board and lodging: Poultry
course: Dfl. 24,500; Pig course: Dfl.
24,500, Feed course; Dfl. 12,000 or
14,500 (direct entry). Closing date: 1
May, 1996. Information: IPC Live-
stock Bameveld College, Dep. of
international Studies and Coope-
ration Programmes, P.O. Box 64,
3770 AB Bameveld (Tel.: 31.342.-
414881, telefax: 31.342.492813, e-
mail: ipcbarvr@knoware.nl).

International Master Course quot;Herd
Health and Epidemiologyquot;. Organ-
ized by: Department of Herd
Health and Reproduction of the Fa-
culty of Veterinary Medicine. Pro-
gramme: The Master Science course
offers an introduction to the appli-
cation of epidemiological methods
specifically appHed to the field of
population oriented studies in ani-
mals. Course fee: Dfl. 15,000,- (not
including lodging etc.). Closing date
for registration 1 July, 1996. Infor-
mation and registration: Office for
International Cooperation, Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box
80.163, 3508 TD Utrecht (Tel.: 31-
30.2532116, telefax: 31.30.2531815,
e-mail: bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

September 1996 - March, 1998
MSc Animal Science and MSc
Aquaculture Programmes. These
courses are designed to impart
advanced knowledge, modern ap-
proaches in scientific research, ana-
lytical skills and critical attitudes, to
enable graduates to develop animal
production or aquaculture in their
own countries. Information: Office
for Foreign Students, Wageningen
Agricultural University, P.O. Box
453, 6700 AL Wageningen.

September, 1996 - August, 1997
Master of Science Course in Vet-
erinary Parasitology. Organized by:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medi-
cine. The course is composed of 3
terms: (1) Formal tuition covering
all major groups of parasites and
their vectors, (2) Some of the most
important veterinary parasites are
selected and studies in depth (3)
Personal research project. Informa-
tion: The joint Masters Course
Secretary, Liverpool School of Tro-
pical Medicine, Pembroke Place,
Liverpool L3 5QA (Tel.; 44.151.-
7089393, telefax: 44.151.7088733,
e-mail: williadj@liverpool.ac.uk).

12 -14 September, 1996
2quot;^ International Seminar on non
tsetse-transmitted animal trypa-
nosomiasis (with the participation of
the OIE). Information: M. le Doc-
teur L. Touatier, 228, bd du Prési-
dent Wilson, 33000 Bordeaux,
France.

International symposium: Tropi-
cal Animal Health and Production.
Theme: \'Urbanization: Veterinary
public health consequences\'. Organ-
ized by the Committee for the Ad-
vancement of Tropical veterinary
Science (CATS) and the Office for
International Cooperation of the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of
Utrecht University. Registration
before 1 September, 1996 to Office
for International Cooperation, Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Medicine. P.O.
Box 80.163, 3508 TD Utrecht (Tele-
fax: 31.30.2531815, e-mail
bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

21 October - 15 November, 1996.
International Training Course on
the Use of Molecular Techniques
(PCR, DNA Probes) for the Diag-
nosis and Monitoring of the Major
Livestock Diseases. Organized by:
International Atomic Energy
Agency with the support of the
FAO/IAEA Joint Division of Nu-
clear Techniques in Food and Agri-
culture. Programme: (1) Introduc-
tion of concepts of the use of PCR
and DNA probes in animal disease
diagnosis and monitoring, (2) Pro-
vide practical training in these tech-
niques, (3) Provide training in the
set up of a diagnostic PCR labora-
tory. Location: Siebersdorf near
Vienna. AppUcation: On standard
IAEA form \'Nomination for train-
ing course\', through the official
channels (Ministry of Foreign
Affairs or UNDP Office) to: L\\EA,
P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna (Tele-
fax: 43.1.20607). Closing date: 19
August, 1996. IAEA scholarships
are available for participants from
developing countries IAEA,

17 - 22 November, 1996
14*^ International Congress for Tro-
pical Medicine and Malaria. \'New
goals for the 21*^ century\'. Organ-
ized by: Science council of Japan,
Japanese Society of tropical Medi-
cine and International federation for
Tropical Medicine. Information, re-
gistration and submission of papers:
Dr. Hideyo Itakura, Secretary Gen-
eral 14*^ ICTM Secretariat, c/o The
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Na-
gasaki University, 1-1 2-4, Sakamo-
to, Nagasaki, 852 Japan.

EQUATOR is a periodical of
the Office for International
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University.

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and ter-
mination of subscription
please return the corrected label
to the editorial office.

This year the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine celebrates 175 years of Vete-
rinary Education in The Netherlands
(175 VET). A good occasion to look
back, reflecting on what has been
achieved, and to look forward to the
challenges of the future. When looking
back in the field of tropical veterinary
medicine there are some names of
people who have had a long career in
the tropics. It seemed a good idea to
the editorial staff EOUATOR to inter-
view some of these pioneers in this
special year when Utrecht\'s Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine is celebrating its
jubilee.

There was no doubt who would be the
first to be interviewed, being without
rivalry the Nestor of the veterinarians.
Prof Dr. P. Hoekstra, who has a long
and distinguished career in the tropics.
Professor Hoekstra graduated from
Utrecht University in 1935 and went to
the former Dutch East Indies one year
later. He finally was to become the first
veterinarian to get his PhD-degree at
the newly established Veterinary Facul-
ty at Buitenzorg (now Bogor) on Java
in 1948 and became professor in ani-
mal husbandry at the same university.
In between lay some very eventful
years. Professor Hoekstra was very
willing to tell about his experiences in
the tropics in those early days and he
turned out to be a very good narrator
with an exceptional memory who left a
deep impression on the editors.

As part of the celebrations of 175 years
of Veterinary Education in The Ne-
therlands (175 VET) many congresses
and symposia are organized, including
the 7quot;^ symposium on \'Tropical Animal
Health and Production\' on 26 Septem-
ber, 1996.

The organizing committee has selected
as this years\' theme: \'Urbanisation:
veterinary pubhc health consequences\'.
Proper health care and disease preven-
tion are creating tremendous challenges
for the medical authorities of the grow-
ing urban population in many tropical
areas. Provision of clean drinking water
and the production of healthy and
inexpensive foodstuffs are essential
elements of the urban services. Food-
stuffs of animal origin like meat, milk
and eggs are essential in the diet and
are increasingly produced in the peri-
and intar-urban areas. Production ani-
mals are being kept in small gardens or
even inside the houses. Livestock and
dogs are roaming along the city streets.
Government veterinary services for
these animals are often non-existing as
livestock production in cities may offi-
cially not be permitted. However, the
presence of animals in the cities creates
risks which are of major concern to the
(veterinary) pubhc health authorities.
These risks are a result of e.g. manure
disposal, iUegal slaughter and disposal
of offal, sale of meat and by-products
under uncontrolled conditions and
zoonoses as a result of crowding and
close contacts between man and his
animals. During the symposium attenti-
on will be paid to the needs and possi-
bihties for the introduction of concepts
for improving the veterinary public
health conditions in urban centres in
tropical areas.

quot;I always wanted to be a farmer, and
after high school, I went to an agricul-
tural college. I actually did become a
farmer at the end of the twenties in the
North of the country, the province of
Friesland, and I liked the job. Never-
theless, some kind of intellectual chal-
lenge was missing. I think I was the
only farmer in the region who had
books sent in on a regular basis from
the capital of the province. One day, I
still remember I was milking a cow
named Grada, I said to myself: quot;I am
goingquot;. And I went. I went to Utrecht
to study veterinary medicine. In fact, I
would have preferred to study animal
husbandry at the Agricultural High
School in Wageningen, but those were
the days after the big crash in Wall
Street and there were really no jobs in
that field. So, it became Utrecht. I
graduated in 1935 and had some short-
time jobs afterwards. I even almost
started an investigation for a PhD the-
sis on the development of a new vac-
cine against swine erysipelas. However,
then my eye fell on an advertisement in
which two veterinarians were sought
for the then Dutch East Indies.
Although I never had visited the col-
ony, I knew something about it as my
brother was working there as a medical
doctor and I also had two good friends
who had studied indology. I wrote, and
was invited for an interview with a
retired head of the Veterinary Service.
I had to meet him in the first class
waiting-room of the Arnhem railway
station and his first question was: quot;How
is your Dutch?quot; Later I understood why

this was the main item. The most im-
portant thing a colonial veterinary
officer was required to do was to write
reports, lots and lots of reports! Any-
how, my Dutch was sufficient and I got
the job.quot;

quot;In August 1936 I embarked for the
East. When we arrived at the island of
Sabang, where all steamers docked to
bunker and where all would-be civil
servants got a telegram saying where
they would be located. I got a message
that my first place would be the city of
Bandung. When some time later we
arrived at Tandjong Priok, the port of
the capital Batavia, I learnt why I had
been chosen to go there. There was
some trouble with the cheese produc-
tion in the local dairy plant. quot;You have
attended an agricultural college, so you
are the right man to solve those prob-
lemsquot;, I was told by the head of the
Veterinary Service, Dr. Kok. In fact,
the problem was not so easy to solve
and I wrote my first report advising
that a dairy expert should be sent in.
Later, I heard that they had done so
and that the problem indeed had been
solved. By that time I had been
allocated to another post, in the Batak-
lands of the large and relatively unci-
vilized island of Sumatra. There an
outbreak had been reported of an
unknown disease that had been called
Toba disease after nearby lake Toba.
They were very careful about it because
there were some fears that it would be
rinderpest. If this really was the case, it
would be disastrous for the relatively
important export of livestock to Singa-
pore, so we had to manoeuvre with
care. Later, these appeared to be only
rumours and in fact there has never
been rinderpest in Indonesia. A disease
that did present a problem in that
region was anthrax. I arrived on the 31®quot;
December 1936 and I wanted to start
vaccinating rapidly. So the next day,
New Year\'s day 1937, I wanted to re-
port to the local veterinarian. I did find
him, together with the poHce inspector
and the senior civil servant. All had
been celebrating New Year\'s day and
all were terribly drunk. Fortunately,
everybody was sober again the next day
and we could start vaccinating. When I
was vaccinating it struck me that the
outbreak mostly affected the buffaloes
and not the cattle or the horses. So, I
wrote a report to the head of the Vete-
rinary Service that the way of keeping

Prof. Dr. P. Hoekstra graduated from Utrecht University in 1935 and went to the
former Dutch East Indies one year later. He finally was to become the first
veterinarian to get his PhD-degree at the newly established Veterinary Faculty at
Buitenzorg (now Bogor) on Java in 1948 and became professor in animal hus-
bandry at the same university. In between lay some very eventful years which he
described lively for the editors of EQUATOR.

the animals might influence the spread
of the disease. The message I got back
was that I could better leave all theory
for what it was and keep to the practi-
cal job. Other important diseases we
had in that region were haemorrhagic
septicaemia and Surra in equine.
As I already said to you, my main inte-
rest was the aspect of breeding, more
than the strict veterinary or clinical
parts of the job. That was why I
started, for the second time now, a
PhD study on pig-breeding on the
island of Nias. I had hardly started
collecting data when I got the instruc-
tions to go to what was then British
India, to buy 150 Jumnapary goats.
These would be used to improve the
local stockquot;

Buying goats in India
quot;When my colleague and I arrived in
Calcutta, the very first thing that struck
us was the complete lack of hygiene in
the large slaughter houses over there. It
was one of our duties as a veterinarian
in the Dutch East Indies to look after
the hygiene in all places with slaughter
houses and I must say, the rules were
adhered to rather strictly. My chief at
home in Medan on the island of Suma-
tra, who was an Indonesian, was very
strict with respect to the aspect of
hygiene in the local slaughter house.
The chains with which the carcasses
were hoisted to the rail at the ceihng
had to look as if they were made of
recently polished silver. In India there
appeared to be no rules at all!
We took a train to Etawah in the Cen-
tral Provinces and from there had to
walk for a day and a half into the bush
to get to the place where the goats
were. We stayed about IY2 months se-
lecting the goats and finally bought 152
of them. They all had to walk back
with us to the railway station for two
days and to our big surprise all 152
goats arrived. However, by then we had
a problem as there were only 75 goats
allowed in a railway carriage. As good
Dutchies we did not like to rent three
carriages, but neither did we like the
idea to leave two of the goats at the
station. So, we gave the local officer a
few silver rupees and off we went with
152 goats in two carriages and docu-
ments stating that we took 150 goats
with us. Everything went well until we
arrived in Calcutta. There the carriages
were inspected again. This time not by
one of the Indian staff members, but by
a British colonial officer and apparently
one who had freshly come in from the
UK. He counted the animals, looked at
the papers, counted again and then
raised his eyebrows. As we already had
a lot of experience in India and knew
that everything was possible with some
rupees, I, almost without thinking,
offered the man some rupees. He
looked at them, then looked at me and
exploded. Well, to make things short,
he nearly jailed us and were very
lucky to get away only paying a fine
that was several times the amount of
money it would have cost to rent
another carriage. Those two goats were
expensive ones!quot;

quot;In March or April 1937 I was sent to
the island of Sumba. So, farewell Nias,
farewell PhD-thesis! Sumba is a rather
small island, about as large as the four
northern provinces of The Netherlands.
There we lived with four expatriates on
a row: the chief Civil Servant, the Ueu-
tenant, the medical doctor and the
veterinarian. We played a lot of tennis
together and almost every night I had
to play bridge...

As for the work, this consisted mainly
of keeping an eye on the large breeding
programme of Zebu cattle on the is-
land. Zebu cattle had been used for
quite a long time to improve the local
breeds in the archipelago. Initially
every year bulls had been imported
from India, but this was rather costly.
Therefore, a large breeding programme
was started on the island of Sumba as
conditions were favourable there. Hun-
dreds of breeding stock were shipped
to Sumba where originally cattle was
not indigenous, in contrast to buffaloes
and horses. A system was set up by
which cattle-breeders on the island
received 12 cows and one bull for
breeding. The condition was that they
had to return the same number of
animals, all other breeding products
could be sold. This was the so-called
quot;Sumba-contractquot;. Things went rather
well and we were able to send 300 to
400 young bulls to the main island of
Java every fortnight.
A funny thing was that, as traditional
stock-breeding always had focused on
horses and buffaloes, cattle had no
social status for the people of Sumba,
despite its economical value. I got
interested in the ways of breeding on
the island and wanted to read a bit
more. However, I got frustrated as I
had to play bridge almost every night
and thus no time to do so. So the day
came, after a countless number of
bridge drives, that I said: quot;I\'ll never
play bridge again!quot; A promise to which
I have kept ever since. I cannot say that
the decision was appreciated by my
bridge partners, but they respected it
and so I finally got some time. I started
to publish about various aspects of
horse-, cattle- and buffalo-breeding on
the island and I also published a rather
exhaustive article about quot;extensive cattle
farming as a rational agricultural sys-
temquot;. In this article I quot;took position
against the agricultural experts who
were promoting ways of mixed farming,
against the experts in forestry who did

not like the burning techniques used by
the cattle farmers and against the Civil
Service and missionaries who wanted
everybody to live in easily accessible
villages rather than in the open field. I
also started my investigations on the
new subject for my thesis: Horse bree-
ding on the island of Sumba. In March
1942 I was well under way with my in-
vestigations. In that month the Japan-
ese, who had spread through the Paci-
fic at an enormous speed after the
attack on Pearl Harbor in December
1941, reached the Indonesian archi-
pelago.quot;

quot;When the Japanese arrived, all white
men were immediately jailed, a few
days later followed by the women and
children. When they were drunk, they
amused themselves by beating us up a
bit or they hterally started to throw us
around. Civil servants were among the
favourites for these little games and I
also remember a Roman Cathohc
priest with an enormous belly who was
always reading his prayers. He too was
always one of the victims. A few
months later we were sent to Makassar
on the island of Celebes. There, the
women were deported to another
camp. I still remember that they gave
us exactly one hour to say farewell.
That is not so much time to say good-
bye to a beloved person you might
never see again... However, I must say
not all Japanese were bad or behaving
hke beasts. My wife was pregnant at
that moment and of course I was very
worried as the women had to travel for
a large distance in mihtary trucks.

When I spoke to one of their officers
expressing my concern he told me not
to worry, nothing would happen he
said. And, indeed, when they drove off
my wife was offered the front seat in
one of the cars of the officers who
themselves sat in the back.
Life in the camps was harsh but not
unbearable. Food was Uttle, we were
beaten from time to time and we had
to bend almost every second, but most
of us survived. However, things
changed when the Yanks started to
bomb our camp. We had to go deeper
and deeper into the bush. Now condi-
tions rapidly became worse and, due to
lack of boiled water, dysentery broke
out. I was not able to keep to my feet
during the last three months of the
war, just for malnutrition and severe
exhaustion. Then the bombs fell on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the war
was over. A fortnight later we were
transported back to Makassar where
we were welcomed by the local people
in a very friendly way. This friendly
atmosphere changed slowly into a more
grim one when, after the proclamation
of the republic, the conflict over the
independence grew and finally com-
pletely got out of hand. For me per-
sonally it was a strange experience to
see my son for the first time at an age
of three.quot;

quot;In December 1945 I arrived again i3n
my beloved island of Sumba. All the
notes for my thesis had gone and thus I
saw my third attempt to write a PhD
thesis frustrated. On the island there
was a severe outbreak of anthrax and
most of the breeding stock had gone
wild. In March and April 1946 our
wives arrived and they brought with
them the vaccine for the control of the
outbreak. It was an enormous task to
recapture the animals and to stop the
anthrax epidemic. Finally, we suc-
ceeded and in the end of 1946 1 was
bestowed with the honour of the order
of knighthood of Orange Nassau in
recognition of the job we had done.
I started to collect my data again, on
the same subject, and I finally wrote
my thesis during my leave in Holland.
When I went back to the East in 1948 I
was the first student to defend a PhD
thesis at the then newly opened Vete-
rinary Faculty of Buitenzorg or Bogor.
In fact, before the war there had been
an educational centre for the so-called
local veterinarians who got a four year
course in veterinary medicine and ani-
mal husbandry. After the war it was
recognized that higher education had
been largely neglected and many insti-
tutions of superior education were
opened in a relatively short time,
among them the Veterinary Faculty of
Buitenzorg, about 25 miles from Ba-
tavia.

Only a short while after the defence of
my thesis, back on the island of Sumba,
I got a letter asking whether I would
agree to become a professor of animal
husbandry at the new faculty. I agreed
and held the post from 1948 to 1951.
Of course that was not so easy a task
as I had to teach a lot of disciplines,
some of which I hardly had any expe-
rience in. I had to study a lot and to
work very hard, but somehow I ma-
naged. After the official transmission of
power in 1949 the Dutch staff was al-
lowed to stay in their posts, but gra-
dually it became clear that there was
no future for us. When I was asked to
become the founding director of an
Institute of Animal Husbandry that
would be part of the National Institute
for Apphed Technical and Physical
Research (TNO) in Holland, I ac-
cepted and repatriated.quot;

quot;In 1957 I joined the Utrecht Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine as a professor of
Animal Husbandry and in 1962 I also
took a chair in Tropical Animal Hus-

In front of the old zoo-
technical institute (1948),
now the institute of parasi-
tology, at the Veterinaiy
Faculty in Bogor (Photo:
collection Hoekstra)

Although I did not stay for long
periods in the tropics any more, I stiU
travelled a lot in the third world. Partly
for my job as a professor, partly for the
Dutch Directorate for International
Cooperation. I have travelled rather
extensively in the Caribbean and parts
of Central and South America, visiting
Jamaica, Trinidad, Surinam, Colombia,
Ecuador and Costa Rica. In Africa I
travelled to Kenya, Tanzania and Egypt
and I also visited some former French
colonies (Chad, Cameroon and the
Central African Repubhc) for the
European Community to evaluate a
project that aimed at the foundation of
a veterinary school in the Central Afri-
can capital of Bangui. For the Agricul-
tural High School I made a trip to
West Africa visiting Nigeria, Ghana,
Ivory Coast and Senegal. For the Di-
rectorate for International Cooperation
I advised on the set-up of an experi-
mental farm for the veterinary faculty
in Isfahan, Iran. I also visited New
Guinea, then still Dutch, where I met
Dick Zwart who later became the suc-
cessor of Dr. Wilson as professor of
Tropical Veterinary Medicine in
Utrecht. When he was asked for the
job, he was working in Ghana and I
was one of the people who had pro-
posed his name. He later told me that
he was as surprised as I was on Siunba
many years ago, when he got a similar
letter in Ghana....quot;

We had been listening breathlessly to the
story of professor Hoekstra\'s long and
rich career. A career that has been built
upon a tremendous energy and will-
power. Who else will start again with his
PhD thesis when, after two failed
attempts, the manuscript of the nearly
successful third attempt has been
destroyed? Although his career has
known its dark periods, with the period
of the Japanese occupation as the most
outspoken example, he has been capable
to retain his cheerfulness to the present
day. He was also able to speak about
those long gone colonial days without
bitterness or melancholy. I (RvW) still
remember the day when he gave a talk
to the students of the optional course in
Tropical Veterinary Medicine in 1981.
Then he told us that, when he went back
to Indonesia for the first time in 1966,
he saw that things had changed. Indeed,
the trains did not mn on time any more
what they had done in the colonial era
and there was more chaos. quot;Butquot;, he
added, quot;I noticed that the people were
different. They felt free now, something
they had not felt beforequot;. This was a very
characteristic remark for one of our
remarkable personalities in tropical vet-
erinary medicine and animal husbandry.

The first issue of another newsletter on
livestock diseases in the tropics has
been pubhshed recently. The \'News-
letter on ticks and tick-borne diseases
of hvestock in the tropics\' was pu-
bhshed in April, 1996. The pubhcation
is an activity in the frame of a Concer-
ted Action financed by the INCO-DC
programme of Directorate General XII
of the European Union entitled: \'Inte-
grated control of ticks and tick-borne
diseases\' (ICTTD). The newsletter is
published by the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine of Utrecht University and the
editor is Prof. Dr. G. Uilenberg. This
first issue provides information about
the objectives of the Concerted Action
and the 24 participating institutes,
which are located in Africa, Europe
and the Caribbean. The ICTTD News-
letter intends to pay attention in the
next issues to unpublished research
results, description of activities of insti-
tutes, abstracts, preprints, reviews, lit-
erature references with abstracts and
comments, meeting and conference an-
nouncements, etc. The Concerted

Action project has opened the possibil-
ity for researchers on tropical tick-
borne diseases of hvestock to become
Associate Member. You can obtain a
registration form from Ms. J. Verbeek,
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, De-
partment of Infectious Diseases and
Immunology, P.O. Box 80.165, 3508 TD
Utrecht, The Netherlands (tel.: 31-
.30.2534591; telefax: 31.30.2540784; e-
mail: j.verbeek(5)vetmic.dgk.ruu.nl).
The ICTTD Newsletter is available at:
http://www.ruu.nl/tropical.ticks/

Since the end of 1994 we, two Dutch
veterinary students, were searching for
a traineeship abroad. In Februciry,
1995, the Office for International
Cooperation of the Faculty of veterin-
ary Medicine told us, that there was a
possibility to go to Tanzania. The
Tanga Smallholder Dairy Development
Programme (a Dutch Development
programme) was looking for two stu-
dents to carry out a survey for venereal
diseases in the breeding bulls, since the
project had identified extended calving
intervals in the dairy cows. One of the
causative factors could be a venereal
disease.

We were glad to get this opportunity.
Immediately we started our search to
find a supervisor. Drs. K.A.S. van
Keulen (a veterinarian at the Depart-
ment of Herd Health and Reproduc-
tion of the Faculty of Veterinary Medi-
cine in Utrecht) and Dr. E. Hartmaii
(Head of the Bacteriological section of
the Laboratories for Animal Health
Services in Deventer) were willing to
help us with the preparations.nbsp;,
get as much as possible experience in
bacteriological lab work. Moreover, we
gained experience in handling bidls and
we collected the necessary equipment.
For five months we collected literature
on the two main venereal diseases in
cattle: Campylobacter fetus subsp. ve-
nerealis and Tritrichomonas foetus. We
wrote a research proposal and tried to

During the last part of their education at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of
Utrecht University, the Netherlands, veterinary students with an interest in the
tropics can choose to do a student traineeship as part of their veterinary education
in a tropical country, usually as a follow-up of the tropical course. After finishing
their veterinary education, the special course on tropical animal health and
husbandry and the practical training in a tropical country, these young veterinari-
ans are well prepared to start a professional career in the livestock sector in any
part of the world. Willieanne van der Heijden and Jorunn Hulsebosch are two of
these students. They have just completed their traineeship at the Tanga Small-
holder Dairy Development Programme in Tanzania where they studied the
possible causes of infertility in breeding bulls.

On September 8th, 1995, we arrived at
Dar es Salaam airport. Our first steps
on African soil! The first weeks the two
Dutch veterinarians of the project (Drs.
Birgit van Munster and Drs. Luuk
Schoonman) were not around, but Dr.
Swai (a Tanzanian veterinarian) as well
as all the other people of the project
took very well care of us. For two
weeks we were busy preparing our
laboratory and following an quot;introduc-
tion programmequot;, especially organized
for us. We visited a few districts of the
project in Tanga Region and obtained
a good impression of the zero-grazing
livestock farms. We tasted all kind of
exotic fruits and got a quick course in
some basic Swahili.

After two weeks we decided to start
sampling the first bulls. These bulls
were based in Tanga Urban, so we
were able to use our own (Chinese)
bikes to go there. Two \'extensionists\'
(field veterinarians) went with us. A bit
unaccustomed we started to tie the
hind limbs of the bulls to protect our-
selves from injuries. After 20 minutes
we were proud possessors of our first
samples! During five weeks we sampled
60 bulls in seven different districts.
Most of the time we could use the car
of the project, with a driver. Sometimes
we had to sit on the back of a motor-
bike. The places nearby were visited by
bike.

The project office of the
Small Holder Dairy Exten-
sion Programme in Tanga
(Photo: Hulsebosch)

day. A few good quality ropes, a strong
Tanzanian extensionisl and soinoLimes
a few cc xylazine was enough to handle
the bulls. We learned quick to be
thrifty with the xylazine, since those
inland breeds appeared to be very
sensitive. Although it was a hard job to
do (35° C. and a humidity of 70%)
there was always enough time left to
drink a coconut or to eat some fresh
roasted cashewnuts before driving back
to Tanga.

We always tried to process the samples
tions (35° without airconditioning or
even a fan). Here, the work consisted
out of inoculation of the samples on
selective media. We had to carry out
different biochemical tests and had to
check the Tritrichomonas media on the
typical movements of the protozoa.

within 8 hours. Our laboratory was
estabhshed in the veterinary chnic in
Tanga. It was a small and old labora-
tory, but all the necessary equipment
was available. This lab was our \'second
home\' for three months. We spent
there at least two hours a day, seven
days a week under really tropical condi-

All the samples for Tritrichomonas
foetus appeared to be negative. Three
samples were positive for Campylo-
bacter. Because we could not do the
final determination of the Campylo-
bacter spp. in Tanzania, these suspi-
cious samples were sent to the Nether-
lands. It was really unexpected at the
end of our practical period, that the 3
suspicious samples were determined as
C. fetus subsp. venerealis.

The second part of our traineeship was
a pilot study for the detection of a
Brucella abortus infection in dairy
cattle. The data were collected for Drs.
Z. Bercovich (ID-DLO in Lelystad).
The objective of this study was to de-
termine the possibihty to differentiate
between vaccinated and naturally

infected animals by using a Delayed
Type Hypersensibility Test (DTHT).
For this purpose we had to inject two
different types of Brucella antigens into
the skin and had to measure the thick-
ness of the skin after 48 and 72 hours.

InfoAgrar is a service of the Swiss
Agency for International Development
(SDC) responsible for documentation
of specialized literature and the relay
of information in the field of agricul-
ture and livestock production. Info-
Agrar\'s goal is to supply those active in
the field of development cooperation
with the necessary agricultural informa-
tion. InfoAgrar has a specialist library

For the detection of an antibody titre
we had to take a blood sample of each
animal. In six weeks about 150 animals
were sampled. Many people warned us
for dangerous bulls, but we could bet-
ter have been warned for dangerous
heifers. It was a totally new experience
to see a kind of \'grand prix\' heifers,
that jumped easily over an height of 1
meter. It was a hard job to catch a
blood sample, but most of the time we
succeeded.

After three months of working but also
some relaxing and swimming in the
Indian ocean, we had to start writing
the first draft report. Luuk and Birgit
tried to convince us that this would
save us a lot of time once we were
back in the Netherlands. Obedient as
we were, we worked on the draft for
five days. We had three weeks left for a
hoHday. We visited Arusha, a few game
reserves, Zanzibar and concluded that
Tanzania is a very beautiful country,
where we had an unforgettable time.
On december 30^ 1995, we took the
plane back to Schiphol. By then the
temperature in the Netherlands was 10°
C below zero and the topic of conver-
sation was quot;de elfstedentochtquot;. This was
going back to the real life. Talking
about the cold weather, gaining enough

of 3,600 books and journals on tropical
and subtropical agriculture and devel-
opment cooperation. The agricultural
data bases AGRIS and TROFAG amp;
RURAL are available on CD-ROM
and InfoAgrar has on-hne access to
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acting as mediator to other information

services and resource persons. In the
future more services are foreseen, such
as: project documentation; continually
supplying a selected group of users
with relevant information; a newsletter;
and being present on Internet. If you
are interested in the activities or ser-
vices of InfoAgrar you can ask for
more information: InfoAgrar, Swiss
College of Agriculture, Langgasse 85,
CH-3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland (tel.:
41.31.9102190, telefax: 41.31.-
9102154, e-mail: info@infoagrar.ch).

Tropical animal health and production and the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht

Utrecht University, one of the 14 universities in the Nether-
lands, includes 14 faculties. Its Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
is the only veterinary faculty in the Netherlands and, as a
result of its scientific and educational standards, it has been
accredited by the American and Canadian Veterinary Medical
Associations since 1973. Within the Faculty there are 11
departments. Research on tropical animal health is mainly
conducted by the Department of Infectious Diseases and
Immunology but other departments are also actively involved
in collaborative research projects in the tropics.
In 1987 the Faculty\'s Office for International Cooperation
(BIC) started with the coordination and extension of the
intemational activities. In 1989 the Committee for the Ad-
vancement of Tropical veterinary Science (CATS) was esta-
blished at the Faculty. The main objective of CATS is the
perpetuation and promotion of research and education rele-
vant to the tropics. The organization of the Symposia on Tro-
pical Animal Health and Production is an activity of BIC and
CATS. From 1990 onwards a yearly symposium has been
organized. The themes were:

Veterinary Mediciae, Utrecht University
1991: Research for development: policies, priorities and op-
tions

1993: Recent developments in veterinary epidemiology
1994: Application of biotechnology

For further information please contact:
Office for Intemational Cooperation
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
P.O. Box 80.163, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netheriands.
Tel.: 31.30.2532116, Telefax: 31.30.2531815
E-mail: bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl

Time: 09.00 - 16.00 hours
Location: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Yalelaan 1, De Uithof, Utrecht
The Netherlands

In 1996 the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine organizes as part
of the celebrations of 175 years of Veterinary Education in
The Netherlands (175 VET) the 7^ symposium on Tropical
Animal Health and Production. The organizing committee
has selected as this years\' theme: quot;Urbanisation: veterinary
public health consequencesquot;.

Proper health care and disease prevention are creating tre-
mendous challenges for the medical authorities of the grow-
ing urban population in many tropical areas. Provision of
clean drinking water and the production of healthy and
inexpensive foodstuffs are essential elements of the urban
services. Foodstuffs of animal origin like meat, milk and eggs
are essential in the diet and are increasingly produced in the
peri- and intra-urban areas. Production animals are being
kept in small gardens or even inside the houses. Livestock
and dogs are roaming along the city streets. Government vet-
erinary services for these animals are often non-existing as
livestock production in cities may officially not be permitted.
However, the presence of animals in the cities creates risks
which are of major concern to the (veterinary) public health
authorities. These risks are a result of e.g. manure disposal,
illegal slaughter and disposal of offal, sale of meat and by-
products under uncontrolled conditions, and zoonoses as a
result of crowding and close contacts between man and his
animals. During the symposium attention will be paid to the
needs and possibilities for the introduction of concepts for
improving the veterinary public health conditions in urban
centres in tropical areas.

Dr. W. Chadambura (Department of Veterinary Services,
Meat Hygiene, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe).

Public health risks of parasitic infections connected with the
consumption of non-conventional animal food.
Dr. V. Kumar (Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine,
Antwerp, Belgium)

Present status of tuberculosis as zoonosis in urban areas.
Drs. J.H. Bangers (DLO-Institute for Animal Science and
Health, Lelystad, The Netherlands)

Prof. Z.S. Pawlowsld (Karol Marcinkowski University of
Medical Sciences, Potznan, Poland) and Dr. P. Schantz (Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA).

Public health risks of inter-urban production and consump-
tion of small stock in Tete Province, Maputo, Mozambique.
Dr. M. Harun (Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo,
Mozambique)

Dr. B.E. Pinelli, Dr. V.P.M.G. Rutten and Prof Dr. E.J.
Ruitenberg (Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netheriands).

The intra-urban epidemiological pattern and risks of rabies.
Drs. K. de Balogh (Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo,
Mozambique)

I wish to attend the 7^ Symposium quot;Tropical Animal Health
and Production. Urbanisation: veterinaiy public health conse-
quencesquot; on 27 September, 1996 at the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, De Uithof, Utrecht.

29 June - 1 July, 1996
14\'^ Symposium on \'The Internatio-
nalization of veterinary Education.
Strengths, Challenges and Opportu-
nities\'. Organized by: College of
Veterinary Medicine, The Univer-
sity of Georgia. Objectives: Inter-
nationalization of veterinary medical
curricula; Compare and contrast
curricula from the various world
sectors; define areas of international
veterinary medicine important to
the veterinary profession; establish
goals in a veterinary college relative
to international offerings etc. Infor-
mation: College of Veterinary Me-
dicine, The University of Georgia,
Athens, Georgia 30602-7372 (Tel.:
1.706.5425728).

14quot;quot; International Pig Veterinary
Society Congress. Information: New
team. Via C. Ghiretti, 1-43100 Par-
ma (Tel.: 39.521.293913, telefax:
39.521.294036, e-mail:
IPVS96@bovet.cineca.it).

International Conference on Fer-
tility Control for Wildlife Manage-
ment. Location: Great Keppel Is-
land, Queensland. Information: Fer-
tility Control Conference, c/-
ACTS, GPO Box 2200, Canberra,
ACT 2601 (Tel.: 61.6.2573299,
telefax: 61.6.2573256, e-mail:
ACTS@ozemail.com.au).

8 July - 16 August, 1996
8*^ International training course on
identification of helminth parasites
of economic importance. Informa-
tion: Dr. L.M. Gibbons, Interna-
tional Institute of Parasitology, 395
A Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Herts
AL4 OXU (Tel.: 44.1727.833151,
telefax: 44.1727.868721, e-mail
CABI-IIP@cabi.org).

Course on Animal Health and Pro-
ductivity in Semi-commercial Sys-
tems. Organized by: Royal Veterin-
ary College, University of London.
Programme: Farming systems;
Health and productivity; Working
with people and their animals; For-
mal approaches; Ethno-veterinary
approaches; Interactive enquiry
techniques and Complimentarity of
approaches. Fee £ 500.00. Reser-
vation: Mrs. Carole Brizuela, Royal
Veterinary College, Boltons Park,
Hawkshead Road, Potters Bar,
Herts. EN6 INB (Tel.: .44.1707.-
666338, telefax: 44.1707.647085)

8quot;quot; International Symposium of
Veterinary Laboratory Diagnos-
ticians and 3quot;* Joint OIE/WAVLD
Session on biotechnology. Informa-
tion: Secretariat, VIII*^ International
Symposium of Veterinary Labora-
tory Diagnosticians, P.O. Box 50006,
Tel Aviv 61500 (Tel. 972.3.-
5140014, telefax: 972.3.5175674).

International Master Course quot;Vet-
erinary Epidemiology and Herd
Healthquot;. Organized by: Department
of Herd Health and Reproduction
of the Faculty of Veterinary Medici-
ne. Programme: The Master of
Science course offers an introduc-
tion to the application of
epidemiological methods specifically
applied to the field of population
oriented studies in animals. Course
fee: Dfl. 15,000,- . Closing date for
registration 1 July, 1996. Informa-
tion £md registration: Office for
International Cooperation, Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box
80.163, 3508 TD Utrecht (Tel.: 31-
.30.2532116, telefax: 31.30.2531815,
e-mail: bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

September, 1996 - August, 1997
Master of Science Course in Vet-
erinary Parasitology. Organized by:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medi-
cine. The course is composed of 3
terms: Formal tuition covering all
major groups of parasites and their
vectors; Some of the most impor-
tant veterincuy parasites are selected
and studied in depth; Personal
research project. Information: The
joint Masters Course Secretary,
Liverpool School of Tropical Me-
dicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool
L3 5QA (Tel.: 44.151.7089393,
telefax: 44.151.7088733, e-mail:
wiUiadj@liverpool.ac.uk).

International symposium: Tropi-
cal Animal Health and Production.
Theme: \'Urbanization: Veterinary
pubhc health consequences\'. Organ-
ized by the Committee for the Ad-

vancement of Tropical veterinary
Science (CATS) and the Office for
International Cooperation of the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of
Utrecht University. Registration
before 1 September, 1996 to Office
for International Cooperation, Fac-
ulty of Veterinary Medicine. P.O.
Box 80.163, 3508 TD Utrecht (Tele-
fax: 31.30.2531815, e-mail:
bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

October, 1996 - October, 1997
MSc Course on Wild Animal
Health. MSc course for graduates in
veterinary and relevant sciences.
Including: practical and theoretical
instruction in the husbandry and
nutrition of wild animals, taxonomy,
population biology, conservation
genetics, welfare and ethical aspects,
epidemiology, immunology, infec-
tious and non-infectious diseases,
disease investigation, restraint, pre-
ventive medicine and surgery and an
individual research project. Organ-
ized by: The Institute of Zoology
(Zoological Society of London) and
The Royal Veterinary College (Uni-
versity of London). Information and
registration: Registrar, The Royal
Veterinary College, Royal College
Street, London NWl OTU (Tel.
44.171.4685000, telefax: 44.171.-
3882342).

21 October - 15 November, 1996.
International Training Course on
the Use of Molecular Techniques
(PCR, DNA Probes) for the Diag-
nosis and Monitoring of the Major
Livestock Diseases. Organized by:
International Atomic Energy
Agency with the support of the
FAO/IAEA Joint Division of Nu-
clear Techniques in Food and Agri-
culture. Programme: Introduction of
concepts of the use of PCR and
DNA probes in animal disease
diagnosis and monitoring; Provide
practical training in these techni-
ques; Provide training in the set up
of a diagnostic PCR laboratory.
Location: Seibersdorf near Vienna.
Apphcation: On standard IAEA
form \'Nomination for training cour-
se\', through Ministry of Foreign
Affairs or UNDP Office to: IAEA,

P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna (Tele-
fax: 43.1.20607). Closing date: 19
August,1996. IAEA scholarships are
available for participants from deve-
loping countries.

Institute of Tropical Medicine, Na-
gasaki University, 1-1 2-4, Sakamo-
to, Nagasaki, 852 Japan.

Bornholm, Denmark

22 - 24 May, 1997

XVIII Symposium of the Scandina-
vian Society for Parasitology, with a
special mini-symposium on Human
and Veterinary Tropical Parasitolo-
gy. Information: Secretariat of Sym-
posium Bornholm, Danish Bilhar-
ziasis Laboratory, Jaegersborg Allé
1 D, DK-2929 Charlottenlund (Tel.:
45.39.626168 and telefax; 45.39.-
626121).

17 - 22 November, 1996
14^ International Congress for Tro-
pical Medicine and Malaria. \'New
goals for the 21*^ century\'. Organ-
ized by: Science council of Japan,
Japanese Society of tropical Medi-
cine and International federation for
Tropical Medicine. Information: Dr.
Hideyo Itakura, Secretary General
14quot;^ ICTM Secretariat, c/o The

Time: 09.00 - 16.00 hours
Location: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Yalelaan 1, De Uithof, Utrecht
The Netherlands

EOUATOR is a periodical of
the Office for International
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University.

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and ter-
mination of subscription
please return the corrected label
to the editorial office.

From the editorial of the last issue of
EQUATOR you may remember that
the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
celebrates this year 175 years of Vete-
rinary Education in the Netherlands.
On this occasion EQUATOR takes its
readers back in time to look at the
activities of some of the veterinarians
who graduated from the Utrecht faculty
and started a career in the \'early days\'
of veterinary medicine in the tropics.
With Prof. Hoekstra, who graduated in
1935, the interviewer looked eastwards
to the former Dutch East Indies. In
this issue of EQUATOR we present an
interview with a graduate from the next
generation, Drs. Henk Kuil who gra-
duated in 1955 and who went west-
wards to Surinam in 1956. In those
days Surinam was independent, but still
a part of the Kingdom of The Nether-
lands. After 8 years, in 1964, he
returned to The Netherlands, and
became a staff member of the Institute
for Tropical and Protozoan Diseases.
Following a short stay of 2 years in
Utrecht, Henk Kuil left for Zaria,
Nigeria. In those years the Utrecht
faculty was providing support to the
newly established (1962) Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of the Ahmadu
Bello University. More about this part
of the history you will read in the next
issue of EQUATOR.
The \'tropical career\' of our guestwriter
of this month started, may be not as a
total coincidence, in Nigeria. Dr. Ron
Dwinger, a \'third generation\' veterina-
rian in tropical veterinary medicine,
graduated in Utrecht in 1976, where he
was trained and made aware of the in-
teresting challenges of a career in the

Long time readers of EQUATOR may
recognise the name Dwinger. From the
very first issue of EQUATOR in 1989,
we have listed his scientific articles in
the column \'Recent Publications\'. His
articles were based on his work in
Kenya, The Gambia and Costa Rica.
Again in this issue you will see refe-
rences of his recently concluded work
in Costa Rica. From Costa Rica he
went to Vienna (Austria), where he is
in charge of a project funded by the
Directorate General for Development
Cooperation (DGIS) of the Ministry of
Foreign affairs of The Netherlands and
which is executed by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
Vienna. In his article he gives us a look
behind the screens of the work by a
Dutch veterinarian at the head quarters
of one of the organizations of the
United Nations.

From his article on disease diagnosis
and control to the next is just a step to
an other section of IAEA. Dr. K.
Boohdoo of Mauritius brings us up to
date on his work on fertility control in
dairy cattle, that he conducts with sup-
port from IAEA. The link with the
article by Dr. S. Ifar of the Brawijaya
University of Malang, Indonesia, on the
role of ruminants in mixed farming in
East Java is also interesting. Both
studies, on Mauritius and Java, con-
clude that interventions which improve
the quahty of feedstuffs, may signifi-
cantly improve the productivity of the
livestock kept by smallholders.

The second quot;pioneerquot; in tropical veterinary medicine the editors of EQUATOR
spoke with is Drs. Henk Kuil. He wanted to start a country practice somewhere in
the Netherlands after graduation, but went to Surinam instead.
When Henk Kuil arrived in Surinam in 1956 this country was not a colony any-
more but a so-called territory overseas, a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Surinam was more or less independent. Only foreign affairs and defence were
handled in The Hague. The veterinarians working in the veterinary service were
employed by the government of Surinam.

Surinam has a varied ethnic society. The Indians live in the interior, while most of
the Creoles who originate from Africa live in the cities. There are Hindustani,
originating from India and Pakistan. These people came as contract workers at the
end of the nineteenth century and stayed after serving their contract. Further there
are Javanese, Chinese, and Jews who came from Brazil originally. And of course
there was also a reasonably large group of Dutch people. Most of Kuil\'s contacts
were with the Hindustani, because they were cattle breeders.
What follows is the story of a veterinarian who always planned things for quot;just a
whilequot;.

When I was a veterinary student my
interest in the tropics was not very
strong. Like 95 percent of my fellow
students I had the intention to start a
quot;country practicequot; after graduation.
But I discovered that I was also intere-
sted in the tropical diseases. In that
time there was a quot;tropical circlequot; at the
Institute for Tropical Diseases in
Utrecht. This circle was organised by
students and was supported by the staff
of the institute. I was present at every
meeting, during which one of the stu-
dents or a veterinarian who happened
to be in the Netherlands gave a presen-
tation on a tropical disease or the situ-
ation in the tropics. So, often you could
find me there during the last years of
my study.

In this period many students had an
interest in New Zealand. It was not
possible to study veterinary medicine in
New Zealand and therefore the author-

The newly appointed
government veterinarian
keeps contact with his
homeland (Photo:
collection Kuil)

would only be for a hmited period,
because my ideal was still to work in a
country practice.

To start with I appUed for a position in
New Zealand but it took a lot of time
before I got a reply. In the meantime I
read an advertisement in the Veterin-
ary Journal for a position of govern-
mental veterinarian in Surinam.They
wanted a general veterinarian. You had
to cover the whole range of veterinary
disciplines from meat inspection to
small animal practice.
I appUed in The Hague at one of the
offices of Surinam and was engaged
very quickly. During the interview no
veterinarians were present, only offici-
als. Afterwards I found out that the
opinion of Prof. Dr. F.C. Kraneveld,
the professor of tropical and protozoan
diseases in Utrecht was decisive in this
matter. Apparently his advice was posi-
tive.

I had not graduated yet and I decided
to do a traineeship at the Institute in
Utrecht. To cut a long story short: I
graduated in October 1955, my wife
and I got married and we took the boat
to Surinam in March 1956.

In Surinam only two governmental
veterinarians were present at that time,
and I became the third, stationed at the
bureau of the veterinary service, which
was located at the old slaughterhouse
of Paramaribo. It was a bit messy
there; cattle were stUl slaughtered while
lying on the floor, partly by means of a
ritual throat cut without stunning the
animal first.

From this office the veterinary service
was managed. My first task the first
couple of years was pregnancy diagno-
sis in cows through rectal exploration.
This was done early in the morning
before the animals were slaughtered. I
learned this technique very well. If you
had doubts you could let the animal
pass and check again after slaughtering.
But in principle it was forbidden to
slaughter pregnant animals.
You needed to know a lot on many
subjects, but not on a high level. Anot-
her task was to visit cattle farms in the
areas surrounding Paramaribo. Well,
surrounding, sometimes I had to travel
more than 50 kilometers. Livestock is
kept in the coastal area. In the tropical
rainforest, the habitat of the Indians
and Creoles, livestock is not present.
Only once I visited a priest at a mission
post in the forest who kept 3 cows.
Cattle production is concentrated a-
round Paramaribo, in the western
region in Nickerie and to the east in
Moengo. The western region is the part
of the country where rice is produced.
After the harvest cattle were fed in the
rice fields.

Moengo was the location of the bauxite
company, which owned a huge dairy
cattle farm. This farm was managed
excellenty and we had to go there on a
regular basis to test the cattle for tu-
berculosis, brucellosis, pregnancy and
for general health control. These inves-
tigations were not done on the other
farms. In that time in Surinam there
were about 40,000 head of cattle spread
over hundreds of small farms. The herd
size varied from 2 or 3 to about 40
cows.

To make traveling worse, Surinam is
cut from north to south by several
rivers. You have to cross the rivers
with a ferry, but these do not have a
regular timetable, so sometimes I had
to wait for quite a while. Despite the
loss of time it was still very interesting.

Were the farmers obliged to have their
cattle slaughtered in the slaughterhouse?

Yes. They could have their cattle
slaughtered in the slaughterhouse in
Paramaribo or in one of the smaller
slaughterhouses in the districts.These
slaughterhouses were quite simple, with
a concrete floor and a roof of corri-
gated iron, but each had its own meat
inspector. These inspectors were
trained by the veterinary service in
Paramaribo.

In the afternoon - if we had time - we
did the companion animal practice.
Working hours were from 07.00 hours
to 13.30 hours, except for Saturday,
because then we finished at 12.30
hours. As you see, we worked six days
a week in that time.

Although the companion animal practi-
ce was private, we were obliged to do
it. My contract stated that we had to
treat all animals that were brought in. I
liked this aspect very much, because
the large animal practice was very
extensive. The consequence was that
farmers that lived far from Paramaribo
often waited too long to call us veteri-
narians if they had a patient. Therefore
the prognosis was often unfavourable.
Especially in the time there was little
fodder, the animals lay often exhausted
on the ground. They could not get up
anymore. Only a few times I was able
to accomplish a dramatic recovery of
the patient. Once I diagnosed milk
fever. By coincidence I had brought the
necessary drugs, so 15 minutes after an
injection the cow got up again. At such
a moment the farmers look upon you
as a medical genius. It was annoying
when it happened because in the sur-
roundings the other farmers expected
miracles now in cases of total exhausti-
on of their animals. It is not very sti-
mulating if you have to drive for more
than an hour and can do nothing upon
arrival.

After a while plans were developed to
build a new slaughterhouse in accor-
dance with Dutch standards. Of course
we were focussed on the Netherlands,
meaning that a Dutch slaughterhouse
was developed, adapted for the tropics.
The new slaughterhouse was opened in
1961. It was rather modern, with cool-
ing facilities and tackles, so that the
animals could be slaughtered hanging
instead of lying down. The head of the
butcher\'s vocational school, Drs. C.C.
van de Watering, visited us and advised
how the process could be improved in
such a way that the slaughtering would
be more hygienic and more human. We
also wanted to improve the phase after
slaughtering by cooling and good pro-
cedures for boning the carcasses, which
is a skill in itself. By treating meat this
way the quaUty, which was not always
optimal, could be optimized.
We also discussed possibihties to make
ritual slaughtering more human. The
animals were laid on their side, their
head was drawn back and with a big
knife the throat was cut. We have tried
to convince the islamic butchers that
electrical stunning could be a solution.
Fortunately, at that moment we were
visited by an islamic priest from Paki-
stan. He belonged to the more liberal
denomination and had no objections

against stunning before ritual slaughter-
ing The butchers had no objections
either, under the condition that the
animals were able to recover after
stunning. So, I gave a demonstration
and it worked: after a couple of minu-
tes the animal shook its head and got
back on its feet. Despite this httle suc-
cess we never succeeded to dispel the
resistance in the religious community.
For a while a teacher from the Nether-
lands came over to teach the butchers
how to treat the meat after slaughter-
ing, how to bone, how to cut the diffe-
rent pieces and what you can do with
them. He also taught the Surinam
house wifes what you can do with the
different pieces of meat, a kind of
cooking course. You see, if the custo-
mer does not ask for a product, the
butcher will not provide it. This had
some effect, but the most important
innovation was the cooling. When I
arrived in Surinam, 99 percent of the
meat was sold immediatley after
slaughtering in butcher\'s shops.

Another task of the veterinary service
was to inspect these butcher\'s shops
on hygiene. We employed somebody to
do this. If there were regular com-
plaints I had to go myself. If the owner
stiU refused to obey the rules, the shop
could be closed.

If somebody observed animal abuse I
had to book the owner, because I was
also an honorary inspector. My last
year in Surinam I even had a hcense to
carry a pistol. Sometimes this came in
handy. The traffic consisted of cars of
course, but also of donkey carts. There
were often colhsions and when a don-
key broke its leg there was nothing I
could do but shoot it. Before I had my
own pistol I sometimes had to borrow
one of a pohce officer. Usually this was
not a problem because they did not
want to do it themselves and also be-
cause I was a sort of colleague.

The main problems in hvestock pro-
duction were feeding and parasites,
Surinam has a tropical lowland chmate,
with 2,000 mm rain per year devided
over 2 rainy seasons. It even rained in
the dry periods!

In the interior the children
were always pleased to
assist the visiting
veterinarian by carrying
his goods (Photo: Kull)

The soil was heavy clay; during rainy
periods the water could not penetrate
the soil which changed in a big puddle
of mud. As you can understand hel-
minths thrive under these circumstan-
ces, causing a high mortahty in calves.
Ticks were another problem. Usually
cattle was heavily infested with ticks
which caused tick-borne diseases like
babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Fortu-
nately there were no cases of rabies in
Surinam. Therefore rabies control at
the border was one of our tasks. It was
not allowed to import dogs that were
not vaccinated.

Dogs without a dog hcense disc were
caught and stationed behind the slaugh-
terhouse. The owners could collect
them there. If they were not collected
they were killed. This was always an
unpleasant task.

The period between 1958 and 1960 was
an interim period for me. I worked for
the Cattle Breeding Service which had
to promote cattle breeding and cattle
production. The service also included a
grassland section which focussed on the
introduction of better types of grasses.
I did research on cattle, especially on
helminths, ticks and tick-borne diseases
and mastitis, which was also a problem.
On the experimental farm
quot;Landsboerderijquot; researchers experi-
mented with crosses of the indigenous
breed, the criollo, the imported Zebu
and the Dutch Frisian cattle. The idea
was to create a cross which was able to
produce a reasonable amount of milk
under Surinam circumstances. These
circumstances included production
based on a diet of the available grasses
because we did not want to use much
concentrates. As stated before the
chmate is hot and humid, Dutch Frisi-
ans would not survive the chmate, nor
the tick infestations nor the tick-borne
diseases. Even if you immunize Frisian
cattle against tick-borne diseases you
could not be sure. Crosses did better.
We were able to cross breed due to
artificial insemination. The service
possessed some bulls. I was responsible
for then- health and the quahty of the
sperm.

At a certain moment there was an
outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in
French Guyana. The only border is the
Marowijne river. We had to take mea-
sures to prevent the disease to cross
the border. People arriving on the
airport even had to walk on desinfec-
tion mats; and you had to station staff
there to control the effectuation of the
measures.

Another example is a travelling circus
from Brazil with all sorts of animals. I
had to estimate the risks before they
were allowed in the country. What kind
of animals are there? Where do they
give performances? Will they have
contact with local anhnals? You cannot
keep a circus for 6 months in quaranti-
ne.

There were also the Brazihan schoon-
ers which smuggled American cars and
whiskey to Brazil. On these schooners

the crew often kept pigs. This is an
extra risk for foot and mouth disease
so I gave the scippers the choice: either
leave the harbour or get your pigs
killed. Sometimes I had to be accompa-
nied by police officers to bring this
news.

In 1961, just before the opening of the
new slaughterhouse, the former head of
the veterinary service left; I was taken
from my post at the cattle breeding
service to become head of the veterina-
ry service. This promotion mecint a
shift, mainly in responsibilities, because
as head I was responsible for everyt-
hing. But of course I had two good
colleagues, among which the first
Surinam veterinaria

Initially I wanted to stay only 5 years.
But I liked to be in Surinam, not only
to work, but also to live. My two
children are born there and we grew
into the community. But one of the
disadvantages is that you get isolated.
Of course you receive some journals
and books, but your colleagues are and
remain at the same level as you do
yourself, there is no development.
Therefore I decided to leave at a cert-
ain moment. During my years in Suri-
nam I had maintained my contacts with
the Institute for Tropical Diseases in
Utrecht, in the frame of the research
programme I did. I had contqcts with
Bool and later Folkers and later ona-
gain with Prof. Wilson, the head of the
Institute. I had collected many blood
samples from the stray dogs that had to
be killed, and I took these samples with
me to the Netherlands. The research
topic in the Netherlands at that time
was toxoplasma. So I was allowed to
test the sera at the Institute. This was
at a time that much more was possible
at Utrecht University than nowadays. It
was not so difficult to increase the
number of staff. In general, it was not
difficult to get a job as a veterinarian
after graduation. At a certain moment
Prof. Wilson came to me and asked if I
was interested in a job at the Institute.
I thought about it and concluded that I
would like it for a while. With me these
things are always quot;for a whilequot;. So I
said quot;Yes!, but under the condition
that I could spend some more years
abroad. At that time Prof. Wilson was
planning a project in Zaria, Nigeria,
where a faculty of veterinary medicine
was to be established. Wilson had been
the head of the veterinary services in
North Nigeria before he was appointed
professor in Utrecht. Unfortunately and
unexpectedly Prof. Wilson died in Sep-
tember 1965. Because I was the oldest
staff member around and other senior
staff were already at the project in
Nigeria, I became the man in charge at
the Institute for a while. It looked to
me that I could forget about Nigeria,
but the Faculty decided I could go. In
March 1966 we left for Nigeria.

Mauritius is an island east of Madagascar. The Mauritian dairy industry is small.
The country imports most of the milk for local consumption, because milk from
abroad is cheaper than locally produced milk. It is tempting not to pay due
attention to the causes of the problems the small scale dairy farmers encounter.
However, the future of these cheap imports is uncertain due to the evolving
GATT agreement. Furthermore, dairy farming in Mauritius is largely done by
women, and provides this group a valuable source of income.

The main problems of the reproductive
performance of dairy cattle in Mauriti-
us are long calving intervals (14 _±_ 2
months) and a low conception rate
(average 30-35%). Beside this the dairy
cattle population has decreased drasti-
cally in the past ten years, from 25,000
head of cattle to 15,000 head now. It
was hard to diagnose the causes for
this decrease due to several interacting
factors. It is in this context that the
joint FAO/IAEA division of nuclear

techniques in food and agriculture
funded a project to identify the possible
constraints to optimum reproductive
performance. The project started in
August 1994 and ended in December
1995. Project details are described in
EQUATOR, volume 6, no. 3 of May
1994.

The project contributed to the impro-
vement of the infrastructure and the
development of the research capacity
by providing equipment and reagents,
fellowships for training of scientific
staff and visits by consultants in the
field of reproduction. In the project the
activities of the organizations that pro-
vide services to the livestock producers
were combined. This multidisciplinary
approach was a success. The co-opera-
tion between extension agents, a veteri-
narian and a researcher created an
atmosphere of mutual confidence and
trust among the farmers who have
willingly collaborated by providing
relevant information and milk samples
to determine the progesterone level.
One of the outcomes of the undertaken
study is a better understanding of the
local system of milk production. This
may lead to better strategies for solving
the problems in dairy farming. For
example: local small scale dairy farmers
beheve that a cow should not be mated
or inseminated before three months
after calving. This perception will be
taken into consideration in the develop-
ment of strategies to reduce calving
intervals.

Data were collected from 150 cows
during this study. One of the striking
outcomes was that 90 percent of the
cows showed late resumption of ovari-
an activity. The interval between cal-
ving and the beginning of ovarian acti-
vity varied from 30 to 180 days.
The study also revealed that heat de-
tection is not a major problem. So, the
conclusions might be that the period
between heat detection and inseminati-
on is too long and/or that semen quali-
ty is suboptimal, leading to repeated
insemination and a low conception rate.
With these outcomes in mind 2 inter-
vention strategies are planned. The first
strategy is to stimulate an earlier re-
sumption of ovarian activity by impro-
ving the pre- and postcalving nutrition
of dairy cows through supplementation.

while the second is to reduce the inter-
v£d between the Ccdl for Al and the
actual insemination and to investigate
semen quality.

When the on-farm tests are positive,
the results of this study can be dissemi-
nated to the farmers\' community.

The author wishes to express his grati-
tude to the International Atomic Ener-
gy Agency for its financial assistance
and technical backstopping which made
this project a success

Last year I was waiting in the departure
lounge in the airport of Harare, Zim-
babwe, ready to board a Cameroon
Airhnes flight going to Yaoundé. I used
my boarding card as a notepad to write
down some topics for a talk I was
expected to give explaining my work to a
mixed audience of African scientists,
pohcymakers and veterinarians. When
the airplane arrived on the tarmac of
Harare airport, it soon became clear that
the 16 passengers waiting to board the
flight were not allowed to proceed,
because the airplane was completely full.
Apparently, the national soccer team of
Cameroon had been sent home after
losing their quahfying match in the Afri-
can Games against South Africa. The
team had boarded the flight at the star-
ting point in Johannesburg and.

Draught oxen, being an
important asset to the
small farmer are used for
ploughing and
transportation (Photo:
Dwinger).

A VETERINARIAN WORKING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY

The first question people ask me when I tell them where I work, is invariably quot;what
does a veterinarian do in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)?quot; The
answer is that a number of nuclear techniques are extensively used in veterinary
medicine. For example radioimmunoassays (RIA) use radioactive isotopes to measure
progesterone levels in cows, giving an indication whether the cow is pregnant, in
oestrus, has a regular cycle or has abnormahties of the ovaries. Consequently, the
Animal Production and Health Section has a programme assisting third world
countries in South America, Asia and Africa in the use of RIA technology. Similarly,
the Section has a programme to initiate supplementation of domestic ruminants using
locally available feed resources, to increase peri-urban dairy production tind to
improve the capabilities of institutes in Africa to diagnose various important animal
diseases. Since all activities are related to hvestock production, the Section forms part
of the the Joint FAO/IAEA Division and as such of the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). The Division has a mandate to
promote the use of nuclear and related techniques in food and agriculture. Working
for an international organisation such as the IAEA means travelling frequently to
assist counterparts with research or technical issues, to attend meetings and
conferences or to organise training courses. It also means working in a multicultural
environment and performing a lot of paperwork.

consequently, had pushed us off the
passenger list. Having a confirmed air-
ticket and having cleared Zimbabwe
customs did not change our predicament.

It meant going back to town, reschedu-
ling flight routes and a travelling delay
which amounted in the end to five days
before reaching Yaoundé. During the
delay I had plenty of time to finish the
lecture on my laptop computer:

quot;Traditionally trypanosomosis in animals
has been diagnosed by laborious micro-
scopic examination of individual blood
samples, initially thin and thick Giemsa
stained smears, later wet films. Concen-
tration methods were developed in the
seventies using a haematocrit centrifuge.
As a result the diagnosis of the disease
was improved and more animals were
detected to be infected with trypa-
nosomes. These techniques, the Woo
method and the Darkground/Buffy Coat
Technique (DG/BCT), had as an addi-
tional advantage that the anaemia of the
animal could be assessed simultaneously
by measuring the Packed Red Cell Vo-
lume percentage. However, although the
specificity of the techniques was good
(very few false positives were encoun-
tered), the sensitivity was insufficient.
The lower detection limit of the most
sensitive technique (the DG/BCT) was
reported to be between 100 and 1000
trypanosomes/ml blood. This proved to
be insufficient, since trypanosomosis in
cattle is often encountered under field
conditions as a chronic disease with low
levels of circulating parasites in the
blood.

The discovery of monoclonal antibodies
and the use of enzyme-hnked immu-
nosorbent assay (ELISA) technology
provided an additional diagnostic tool for
testing large numbers of samples with a

reasonable accuracy of detecting infected
animals. Monoclonal antibodies directed
at epitopes of Trypanosoma bmcei, T.
congolense and T. vivax were used to
capture and detect trypanosomal anti-
gens in bovine blood samples using an
ELISA developed at the International
Laboratory for Research on Animal Dis-
eases (ILRAD). The assay has been
transformed in a ready-to-use kit form
by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division for
distribution among 15 African research
institutes (Figure 1).
Follov^ng a validation period under field
conditions, minor adjustments were
incorporated in the protocol to increase
the sensitivity and specificity of the
ELISA and improve the robustness of
the test for use under laboratory condi-
tions in Africa.

Presently the Antigen detection ELISA
is being appHed in conjunction with
conventional parasitological techniques
such as the DG/BCT to monitor pro-
gress in various tsetse and trypanoso-
mosis control programmes in Africa and
in a tsetse eradication effort on the
island of Zanzibar, United Republic of
Tanzania.

Since the specificity of the ELISA is
excellent, it is intended to focus research
efforts at the FAO/L\\EA Agriculture
and Biotechnology Laboratory at impro-
ving the sensitivity of the test. However,
these efforts are severely hampered by
the lack of a diagnostic test that cam be
used as a quot;gold standardquot;. The Polyme-
rase Chain Reaction (PCR) is known to
be a very sensitive test, but will detect
false positives if insufficient controls are
being used during the sampling and
testing procedures. For trypanosomosis
in particular this test would be ideally
suited as the quot;gold standardquot;. It would
have to verify doubtful samples, which
have been detected positive by ELISA,
but have not been found positive parasi-
tologically in order to distinguish the
true from the false positives. At the
same time the PCR technique might be
used to detect infected animals that have
tested negative in the ELISA and
DG/BCT due to insufficient sensitivity of
these latter two tests. The practical sig-
nificance of the PCR would be that in
disease eradication programmes it is of
great importance to detect remaining
foci of infection (to detect the false
negatives). It would be equally important
to unmask the false positives, which
would assist in giving an indication when
to stop eradication efforts. In collabo-
ration with the University of Glasgow,
United Kingdom, and the International
Livestock Research Institute (ILRI,
formerly ILRAD), Kenya, investigations
will be initiated to incorporate the PCR
in the diagnostic methods for monitoring
disease control.

As an additional tool for assessing the
effect of tsetse control programmes and
for analysing the geographical and envi-
ronmental implications of these interven-
tions, we intend to use computerized
systems such as Geographical Informa-
tion Systems (GIS). GIS will allow the
input, storage, manipulation, analysis and
display of geographically referenced data.
Data sets of importance for assessing
tsetse and trypanosomosis control pro-
grammes should contain information on
climate, vegetation, geographical features
(such as altitude, soils), human, animal
and vector populations and socio-eco-
nomic influences. Thus, one can assess
the effects of disease interventions on
land use, animal distribution or the envi-
ronment. Moreover, GIS can be used to
map disease distribution when geo-
graphically referenced disease prevalence
data are available. Similarly, the influ-
ence and dynamics of changes in disease
incidence can be predicted and disease
risk maps can be produced for various
geographical sitesquot;.

When reading the lecture some days
later at another airport somewhere in
Africa waiting for a delayed flight, I
noticed that various parts of the talk
were not clear and needed further expla-
nation. I should add some background
information on the Animal Production
and Health Section I work in, which is
part of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division.
The Division consists of six sections
dealing with the use of nuclear tech-
niques in agriculture, such as using radi-
aation to increase plant yields, preserve
food products and analyse agrochemicals.
Another Section deals with the use of
insects sterilised by radiation as a way of
biologically controlling insect pests (such
as the fruit fly and the tsetse fly). Yet
another Section within the Division is
dealing with soils for example by investi-
gating the decontamination and use of
land following the disastrous accident at
the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl in
the Ukraine. Since all activities aim at
optimising productivity of indigenous
animal production systems it is logical
that the two UN organisations (FAO and
IAEA) implement the projects in close
collaboration through the Joint
FAO/IAEA Division.
Another omission in the talk was that it
failed to clarify the position of the FAO-
/lAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology
Laboratory. The part of the laboratory
which is involved in applied research in
support of the overall programme of the
Animal Production and Health Section,
is the the Animal Production Unit. Fur-
thermore, the Unit is in charge of deve-
loping, standardising and distributing the

International Atomic Energy Agency
(1993). Improving the diagnosis and
control of trypanosomiasis and other
vector-borne diseases of African
livestock using immunoassay
methods, IAEA-TECDOC-707,
IAEA, Vienna.

Luckins, A.G. (1992). Methods for
diagnosis of trypanosomiasis in live-
stock. World Animal Review, 70-71:
15-20.

Majiwa, P.A.O., Thatthi, R., Moloo,
S.K., Nyeko, J.H.P., Otieno, L.H.
and Maloo, S. (1994). Detection of
trypanosome infections in the saliva
of tsetse flies and buffy-coat samples
from antigenaemic but aparasitae-
mic cattle. Parasitology, 108: 313-3-
22.

immunoassay kits used to monitor ani-
mal production parcmieters and diagnose
animal diseases all over the world.
After making the corrections to the text
I felt at ease and ready to deliver the
talk. Let\'s just hope the overhead projec-
tor does not break down and there will
be no electricity cuts in the lecture hall...

R.H. Dwinger

(For further information please contact
the author at: Animal Production and
Health Section, Joint FAO/L\\EA Divi-
sion, International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), P.O. Box 100, A-1400
Vienna, Austria)

Nantulya, V. M. (1990). Trypanoso
miasis in domestic animals: the
problems of diagnosis. Rev. Sci.
Tech. Off. Int. Epiz., 9: 357-367.

On Monday, 9 September, 1996, at 16.00 h. Mr. Ifar Subagiyo will defend his PhD
thesis \'Relevance of ruminants in upland mixed-farmmg systems in East Java,
Indonesia\'. The defence takes place in the university auditorium (Aula) of
Wagenmgen Agricultural University at Wageningen, The Netherlands. Mr. Ifar is a
staff member of the Faculty of Animal Husbandry of the Brawijaya University in
Malang, Indonesia. His promotor is Prof. Dr. D. Zwart and the co-promotor is
Dr. H.M.J. Udo. Prof. Dr I.M. Nitis, professor in animal nutrition and tropical
forage science at Udayana University in Bali, is the external examiner.

In Indonesia, upland agriculture is
associated with resource-poor farmers,
land degradation and low agricultural
production. A marginal limestone area
in the uplands of East Java, was chosen
to carry out a study on the relevance of
ruminants for upland mked farming
systems. The data collection was done
within the framework of an interdisci-
plinary agricultural research training
project in Farming Systems Analysis,
executed by the Brawijaya University,
Malang, Indonesia and Wageningen
Agricultural University and Leiden
University of The Netherlands.
Two villages were selected as research
sites because of the differences in land
use and soil characteristics. In one
village, land use is dominated by the
cultivation of sugar cane and annual
crops on relatively flat areas with deep

soils. In the other village, agroforestry
is becoming increasingly important in
areas with steep slopes and shallow,
stony soils. Cattle are by far the most
important livestock in the limestone
area. Farmers aim at both physical
production (progeny, increase in body
weight, manure, draught power) and
intangible benefits. The intangible be-
nefits comprise the capital embodied in
animals kept and the possibiHty of
disposing of animals as and when
required. If the intangible benefits are
included, farmers arrive at a daily
return for labour from hvestock similar
to the ongoing daily wages in the crop
sector. It is concluded that all benefits
of livestock should be accounted for
when determining objectives in
research and development programmes.

Systems, whereby villagers share the
ownership of ruminants, enable the
available labour and capital to be used
better and distribute wealth more even-
ly in the village. They play a major role
in replenishing herds after periods of
severe drought. The use of cattle for
land cultivation is related to the land
use system. In the sugar cane oriented
system, cattle were mainly used to
cultivate the better quality land, where-
as in the agroforestry system cattle
were hardly used for land cultivation.
Land use also has important conse-
quences for the feed resource base. In
both production systems, the feeding
practices and herd sizes are adapted to
the available resources. Simulation
proved to be a useful tool for under-
standing the feeding practices and the
evaluation of proposed new technol-
ogies. Physical production can only be
increased by increasing the amounts of
high quaUty feeds.

This study has demonstrated that
farmers in the marginal uplands of
East Java are efficient within the con-
straints of the existing farming systems.
Small changes in management, includ-
ing the control of Toxocara using an-
thelmintics, providing better feed for
pregnant and lactating cows and plant-
ing more gUricidia, will be beneficial
for the improvement of ruminant pro-
duction. However, farmers\' adoption of
these measures may be constrained by
socio-economic factors such as the
inabihty to reallocate labour and cash
resources, and the ownership of
resources and products.
Complex mnovations and dramatic
changes, e.g. introduction of dairy
cattle or cattle fattening schemes,
would be difficult because of the
limited physical and economic resource
base. The interdisciplinary research
approach has given insight into the
versatility of livestock in supporting the
well being of farming households.

The section RECENT PUBLICATIONS is included in the English issues of EQUATOR. Scientific publications of the Facul-
ty of Veterinary Medicine and other research institutes in The Netherlands, relevant to livestock production and health in the
tropics as well as titles of papers by Dutch veterinary scientist working on animal health and production topics in relation to
developing countries, will be included. Please inform the editor of your pubHcations so we can bring them to the attention of
the readers of EQUATOR. For reprints contact the authors directly, their addresses can be obtained from the editorial of-
fice.

Dwinger, R.H. et al. (1992). Estudio epidemiológico sobre las lesiones podales del ganado lechero en la region des Poas en
Costa Rica. Ciencias Veterinarias (Costa Rica^ 14 (1): 13-22.

Keverling-Buisman, A., Cedeno, H. and Berrocal, A. (1993). Hernia diafragmatica como causa del sindrome de la vaca caida.
Ciencias Veterinarias (Costa Rica^ 15 (2): 33-36.

Schreuder, B.E.C., Moll, H.A.J., Noorman, N., Halimi, M., Kroese, A.H. and Wassink, G. (1996). A benefit-cost analysis of
veterinary interventions in Afghanistan based on a livestock mortaUty studv. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 26: 303-314.

Schreuder, B.E.C., Noorman, N., Halimi, M. and Wassink, G. (1996). Livestock mortaUty in Afghanistan in districts with and
without a veterinary programme. Tropical Animal Health and Production 28: 129-136.

Baaijen, M. and Perez, E. (1995). Information technology in the Costa Rican dairy sector: a key instrument in extension and
on-farm research. Agriculture and Human Values 12: 45-51.

Graaf, T. de and Dwinger, R.H. (1996). Estimation of milk production losses due to sub-clinical mastitis in dairy cattle in
Costa Rica. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 26: 215-222.

Camus, E., Barré, N., Martinez, D. and Uilenberg, G. (1996^ Heartwater (Cowdriosis;): a review. 2nd ediction. OIE, Paris
pp. 177 (ISBN 92-9044-376-6).

Hermans, P, Dwinger, R.H., Buening, G.M. and Herrero, M.V. (1994). Seasonal incidence and hemoparasite infection rates
of Ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) detached from cattle in Costa Rica. Revista de Biologia Tropica 42: 623-632.

Dam, J.T.P. van, Schrama, J.W., Hel, W. van der. Verstegen, M.WA. and Zwart, D. (1996). Heat production, body tempera
ture, and body posture in West African Dwarf goats infected with Trypanosoma vivax. Veterinarv Ouarterlv 18: 55-59.

3 September, 1996 - 28 February, 1998
International Master Course quot;Veterinaiy
Epidemiology and Herd Healthquot;. Organized
by; Department of Herd Health and Repro-
duction of the Faculty of Veterinary Medici-
ne. Programme: The Master of Science cour-
se offers an introduction to the application
of epidemiological methods specifically ap-
plied to the field of population oriented
studies in animals. Course fee: Dfl. 15,000,- .
Closing date for registration 1 July, 1996. In-
formation and registration: Office for Inter-
national Cooperation, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, P.O. Box 80.163, 3508 TD Utrecht
(Tel.: 31.30.2532116, telefax: 31.30.253-
1815, e-mail: bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

September, 1996 - March, 1998
MSc Animal Science and MSc Aquaculture
Programmes. These courses are designed to
impart advanced knowledge, modem ap-
proaches in scientific research, analytical
skills and critical attitudes, to enable gra-
duates to develop animal production or
aquaculture in their own countries. Informa-
tion: Office for Foreign Students, Wagenin-
gen Agricultural University, P.O. Box 453,
6700 AL Wageningen.

September, 1996 - August, 1997
Master of Science Course in Veterinary Pa-
rasitology. Organized by: Liverpool School
of Tropical Medicine. The course is com-
posed of 3 terms: Formal tuition covering all
major groups of parasites and their vectors;
Some of the most important veterinary para-
sites are selected and studied in depth; Per-
sonal research project. Information: The
joint Masters Course Secretary, Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke
Place, Liverpool L3 5QA (Tel.: 44.151.-
7089393, telefax: 44.151.7088733, e-mail:
williadj@liverpooI.ac.uk).

12 - 14 September, 1996
2quot;* International Seminar on non tsetse-
transmitted animal trypanosomiasis (with the
participation of the OIE). Information: M. le
Docteur L. Touatier, 228, bd du Président
Wilson, 33000 Bordeaux, France.

7^ International symposium: Tropical Ani-
mal Health and Production. Theme: \'Urbani-
sation: Veterinary public health consequen-
ces\'. Organized by the Committee for the
Advancement of Tropical veterinary Science
(CATS) and the Office for International
Cooperation of the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine of Utrecht University (for details
see EQUATOR 1996 no. 3). Registration
before 6 September, 1996 to Office for In-
ternational Cooperation, Faculty of Veteri-
nary Medicine. P.O. Box 80.163, 3508 TD
Utrecht (Telefax: 31.30.2531815, e-mail:
bic@bic.dgk.ruu.nl).

October, 1996 - October, 1997
MSc Course on Wild Animal Health. MSc
course for graduates in veterinaiy and re-
levant sciences. Including: practical and theo-
retical instruction in the husbandry and
nutrition of wild animals, taxonomy, popula-
tion biology, conservation genetics, welfare
and ethical aspects, epidemiology, immu-
nology, infectious and non-infectious dis-
eases, disease investigation, restraint, pre-
ventive medicine and surgery and an individ-
ual research project. Organized by: The
Institute of Zioology (Zoological Society of
London) and The Royal Veterinary College
(University of London). Information and
registration: Registrar, The Royal Veterinary
College, Royal College Street, London NWl
OTU (Tel. 44.171.4685000, telefax: 44-
.171.3882342).

21 October -15 November, 1996.
International Training Course on the Use of
Molecular Techniques (PCR, DNA Probes)
for the Diagnosis and Monitoring of the
Major Livestock Diseases. Organized by:
International Atomic Energy Agency with
the support of the FAO/IAEA Joint Divi-
sion of Nuclear Techniques in Food and
Agriculture. Programme: Introduction of
concepts of the use of PCR and DNA pro-
bes in animal disease diagnosis and moni-
toring; Provide practical training in these
techniques; Provide training in the set up of
a diagnostic PCR laboratory. Location: Sei-
bersdorf near Vienna. Application: On stan-
dard IAEA form \'Nomination for training
course\', through Ministry of Foreign Affairs
or UNDP Office to: L^EA, P.O. Box 100, A-
1400 Vienna (Telefax: 43.1.20607). Closing
date: 19 August,1996. IAEA scholarships are
available for participants from developing
countries.

17 - 22 November, 1996
14\'^ International Congress for Tropical
Medicine and Malaria. \'New goals for the
21*^ century\'. Organized by: Science council
of Japan, Japanese Society of tropical Medi-
cine and International federation for Tropi-
cal Medicine. Information: Dr. Hideyo Ita-
kura, Secretary General 14\'^ ICTM Secre-
tariat, c/o The Institute of Tropical Medi-
cine, Nagasaki University, l-l 2-4, Sakamoto,
Nagasaki, 852 Japan.

International Embiyo Transfer Society
(I.E.T.S.), Annual meeting 1997. Topics:
Regulation of follicular and oocyt matura-
tion; Epidemiology of diseases related to the
use of E.T.; Progress with new sources for
genetic material in breeding; What deter-
mines sex in mammals; Intercellular com-
munication between embryo and recipients.
Information and registration: lETS, Annual
meeting 1997, UNCEIA, 149 Rue de Bercy,
75595 Paris Cedex 12 (Telefax: 33.1-
40045379).

10quot;quot; International Course on Daiiy Hus-
bandry and Milk Processing. Programme:
Dairy development, Animal husbandry,
Milkprocessing, Teaching and extension,
Dairy farm management, Small-scale milk
processing. Closing date: 1 October 1996. In-
formation and application: IPC Livestock,
Dairy Training Centre Friesland, P.O. Box
85, 9062 ZJ Oenkerk (Tel.: 31.5103.61562,
telefax: 31.5103.61628).

4\' Biennial meeting of the Society for Tropi-
cal Veterinary Medicine (STVM-97). Pro-
gramme: (1) Molecular epidemiology of
tropical diseases with subjects: Molecular
techniques and diagnosis; Epidemiology;
Application of molecular epidemiology to
tropical countries; Tropical diseases as a
model in molecular epidemiology. (2) Hemo-
parasitic diseases and their vectors with
subjects: Tick biology; Tick pathogen inter-
actions; Integrated control of tick and tick
borne diseases; Trypanosomiasis diagnosis
and control; Tsetse biology and control. (3)
General sessions: Contributed papers on:
Tropical veterinary medicine; Disease diag-
nosis, management and control, etc.. Organ-
ization is in collaboration with CIRAD-
EMVT. For information: Internet STVM
homepage http://forest.bio.ic.ac.uk/STVM.
Requests for second announcement before
15 August, 1996 to: Dr. E. Camus, CIRAD,
BP 2386, Jarry Cedex 97002, Gouadeloupe
(FWI) (Tel.: 590.252490, telefax: 590.-
252492, e-mail: camus@cirad.fr).

XVIII Symposium of the Scandinavian
Society for Parasitology, with a special mini-
symposium on Human and Veterinary Tro-
pical Parasitology. Information: Secretariat
of Symposium Bomholm, Danish Bilhar-
ziasis Laboratory, Jaegersborg Allé 1 D, DK-
2929 Chariottenlund (Tel.: 45.39.626168
and telefax; 45.39.626121).

EQUATOR is a periodical of
the Office for International
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University.

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and ter-
mination of subscription
please return the corrected label
to the editorial office.

In his opening the chairman of the
Organizing Committee, Prof. Dr. F.
van Knapen of the Department of
Science of Food of Animal Origin, gave
the background for the choice of the
theme for this years symposium. \'The
world is becoming increasingly urba-
nised. By the year 2025 it is anticipated
that 60% of the worlds population will
live in urban areas. Population growth
in various parts of the world does not
always go parallel with adequate living
standards, particularly in the huge
cities, which in turn leads to movement
of people to less expensive peripheral
areas. Severe overcrowding, inadequate
waste disposal, poor water and air qua-
hty, all forms of animal husbandry, free
roaring animals and crop growing on
small pieces of soil, are all potential
public health risks. This symposium will
pay attention to the veterinary public
health aspects in such areas, ranging
from manure disposal, food supply and
control of zoonoses\'.

Dr. Meslin of WHO gave more de-
tailed figures on the expected urban
population in developing countries. In
2010, 3 billion people of the 7 biUion
inhabitants of our planet will live in
cities in developing counties, with an
annual growth rate of 2.5%. He men-
tioned the programme \'Healthy cities\'

of WHO, which is aimed at improving
living standards in these cities. Sofar
veterinary public health is not included
in this programme and he expressed his
wish that this symposium may help to
identify priorities for the component of
Veterinary Urban Hygiene of this

On 27 September, 1996, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University
organized the T Symposium on \'Tropical Animal Health and Production\'. The
theme of this year\'s symposium was: \'Urbanisation: veterinary public health conse-
quences\'. The programme was centred around 4 topics: (1) Veterinary pubhc
health, (2) Production and consumption, (3) Living in a healthy environment and
(4) Animals as source for disease in humans. After a keynote address by Dr. F.X.
Meslin of the Division of Emerging and other Communicable Diseases, Surveil-
lance and Control of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, ten spea-
kers, two from the Utrecht Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and eight from univer-
sities, research institutes or projects in Africa, Europe and the United States were
invited to give a presentation. With 80 participants coming from 6 European and 7
African countries as well as from the USA, India and Thailand, the organizers can
look back with satisfaction to a well attended and interesting symposium.

In most developing countries veterinary
authorities were and still are mainly
concerned with meat inspection and
rabies control. Larger cities create
more and more complex problems, re-
quiring more and new activities of the
veterinary authorities. Dr. Meslin indi-
cated that \'Veterinarians are well
placed to play a key role in this com-
plex of interaction between humans,
animals and their environment. How-
ever, this can only be successful if there
is close collaboration with the health,
environmental and other pubhc servi-
ces\'. An Action Plan should involve the
following components: Health educa-
tion of the public and training of staff,
intersectoral collaboration, surveillance,
legislation, zoonosis prevention and
control, dog registration and animal
population management. Environmen-
tal protection and animal welfare are
components that should be given atten-
tion when possibilities and means exist.

The development and conditions for
meat inspection in Zimbabwe were
presented by Dr. W. Chadambura of
Veterinary Pubhc Health Office in
Chinhoyi. Meat inspection became an
integral part of the activities of the
Department of Veterinary Services in
1928. In that year in order to comply

In the urban areas of Tete,
Mozambique, pigs are
reared freely and human
sanitation is poorly deve-
loped, causing severe pro-
blems such as human cysti-
cercosis and taeniasis
(Photo: Harun)

with the veterinary sanitary require-
ments of the Belgian Congo (now
Zaire) in respect of meat imports from
Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) a proper
system of veterinary inspection was
organised at the Cold Storage Works in
Bulawayo. Prior to that all meat inspec-
tion was the responsibility of the De-
partment of Health. Legislation played
a significant role in the development of
the present high standards in meat in-
spection and quality control.
Training of inspectors started in 1965
and these obtained the Royal Society of
Health certificate (London) in Meat In-
spection. Meat inspection regulations
were gazetted in 1946 and regularly up-
dated in accordance with new require-
ments. Zimbabwe was given the appro-
val by the Commission of the European
Communities to export beef to member
states on 1st October, 1985. This gave a
seal of quality to the Veterinary Ser-
vices in Zimbabwe. Some of the larger
abattoirs had face lifts to comply with
European requirements.

Legal conditions also apply to the regis-
tration of slaughterhouses, and require-
ments are set for their construction and
facilities. Slaughterhouses are graded
A, B, or C depending on throughput.
The A slaughterhouses apply to the re-
quirements for export to the European
Union. However, with increased public
awareness for hygiene more meat from
these slaughterhouses is sold locally.
Registered abattoirs in urban areas
cater for animals slaughtered for
human consumption and approximately
85% of the cattle and pigs slaughtered
pass through facilities belonging to the

Cold Storage Company and Colcom (a
private co-operative). All of these are
inspected by Meat Hygiene officials of
the Department of Veterinary Services.
The permanent attention to produce
quahty meat for export has resulted in
a high level of professionalism in the
whole veterinary pubhc health sector in
Zimbabwe. Although all seems well or-
ganized Dr, Chadambura noted a num-
ber of problems. Most of these are
concerned with the limitations on go-
vernment funding for the Department
which results in delays in the registra-
tion of slaughterhouses in the rural
areas and possibihties to undertake
campaigns to educate the public in
respect of hygiene.

Prof Ir. B. Krol of the Utrecht De-
partment of Science of Food Animal
Origin pointed the attention to the fact
that even to-day past harvest losses
worldwide still amount to 25%. The
quantity of animal by-products is, inclu-
ding hides and skins, at least 50% of
the life weight of animals. The yield of
edible by-products from meat animals
ranges from 20 to 30% and is about
5% from chickens. The other part of a
carcass consists of meat, fat and bones.
Worldwide several billions of meat ani-
mals are raised annually, delivering, be-
sides meat, fat and bones, one biUion
tons of edible by-products. Prof Krol
described two positive examples of safe
handhng of animal byproducts.
One is the development of safe and
modern small rendering plants. In
(North) Yemen new slaughterhouses
have been constructed and adequate
technical facilities installed. In 1991 six

Prof. Z.S. Pawlowski
stressed that taeniasis is
basically a medical problem
(Photo: De Gooijer)

slaughterhouses were in operation. The
economical viabihty of slaughtering is
increased by safe rendering of animal
by-products and by the superior quahty
of hides and skins. Both processes were
carried out with success in Yemen. A
special plant for this purpose was con-
structed in 1986, close to the largest
slaughterhouse in Sana\'a. Cookers were
used to produce meat-, bone- and
blood meal for animal feed. These pro-
ducts were put in plastic bags and used
in the small scale dairy industry. Health
and production of these animals impro-
ved significantly. The whole process of
improvement of standards in meat hy-
giene and the use of the by-products
was extensively supported by a pubUc
awareness campaign on television.
Question marks were put by the audi-
ence at the safety of using animal pro-
ducts in animal feed, having the recent
outbreak of BSE in the UK freshly in
mind. However, according to the view
of the \'meat technologist\' Prof. Krol,
using local products for local use and
strict control on the heating process
result in a safe product.

The other example of safe handling of
animal byproducts. Prof. Krol presen-
ted, is the safe and modern handling of
traditional animal casings. Since two
decades these casings are making pro-
gress worldwide. Natural casings have a
annual trade value of 4 bilhon US$.
Natural casings are used for centuries
as meatdough containers (sausages)
and are obtained normally from intesti-
nes of cattle, pigs and sheep. They have
to be removed carefully after slaughter
of the animal and separated from the
organs. It has been demonstrated that
technical developments improve con-
trolled handling - hygiene and quality -
and reduce processing time and labour
costs of this product. In close coop-
eration between various industrial part-
ners and two research institutions, an
EU-CRAFT project started to look for
a better machinability and the impro-
vement of quot;pullingquot; and salting of the
casings. Pulling requires well trained
craftsmen; may be a part of the compli-
cated quot;handlingquot; can be overcome by a
new technical device combined with the
air-pressure knife. These developments
shall lead to the improvement of the
safety and the quality of natural ca-
sings. The result of proper handUng
gives the products a higher added value
and contributes to an increased eco-
nomical quot;spin-off of animal production.

Dr. V. Kumar of the Department of
Veterinary Medicine of the Institute of
Tropical Medicine (Antwerp) presented
a paper on the additional risks of the
consumption of non-conventional ani-
mal food. Certain communities use
unusual animals as items of food. Con-
sumption of such animals may be ha-
zardous for human health. Dr. Kumar
gave a number of examples: hepatic ca-
pillariasis, pulmonary paragonimiasis
and trichinellosis.

Cricetoma or African giant rats are
rodents which are increasingly used as
bush meat and as an alternate source
of animal protein in human nutrition in
various parts of tropical Africa. A
recent study in Zaire has shown that
23.3% of the cricetoma, captured from
their natural habitat in Bas-Zaire har-
bour Capillaria hepatica infection. They
are hunted in their natural habitats and
brought to urban markets for supply to
the consumers. These animals are kil-
led, dressed and prepared for cooking
in house-hold kitchens. This must often
lead to contamination of cooking uten-
sils with the eggs of C hepatica, which,
once embryonated, are infective for
man. The true prevalence of human he-
patic capillariasis in most part of Africa
is unknown given that an accurate diag-
nosis, based on liver biopsy or other
methods, is seldom carried out and the
causes of deaths often remain unidenti-
fied.

Human pulmonary paragonimiasis or
lung fluke disease shows a focal dis-
tribution in West Africa. The disease is
caused by trematodes of the genus Pa-
ragonimus. The infection in humans is
acquired through the consumption of
certain freshwater crabs which harbour
the infective stage metacercariae of the
trematode. Human pulmonary parago-
nimiasis may become a public health
threat of considerable magnitude du-
ring periods of war or famine when
crustaceans in the disease endemic
areas are consumed in increasing quan-
tities as a substitute routine food.

The third zoonosis Dr. Kumar des-
cribed was trichinellosis. He noted that
the use of dog meat for human con-
sumption is common and socially ac-
ceptable in certain areas of Asia. Tri-
chinellosis is a well known parasitic
zoonosis caused by muscle invasion of
the larvae of Trichinella spiralis.
Humans can be affected with trichinel-
losis by ingesting dog meat contami-
nated with the larvae. Studies in Jilin
Province, North China, showed that
dogs are infected with this parasite. At
the same time, in Jilin, there is an
increasing demand for dog meat as
item of food. Not all the larvae of T.
spiralis present in the musculature of
dogs are killed by the manner in which
people prepare dog meat for consump-
tion. This makes the consumers vulner-
able and at high risk of acquiring tri-
chinellosis. In fact humans died of
trichinellosis in JiUn. Theoretically,
disease control could be achieved by
using closed facilities for the rearing of

Tuberculosis as zoonosis
During a Symposium on veterinary
public health and zoonosis in tropical
areas, tuberculosis cannot be omitted
from the programme. Dr. J.H. Bongers
of the Institute for Animal Science and
Health (ID-DLO) in Lelystad, The
Netherlands, highlighted the increasing
importance of this disease worldwide.
One third of the world population is
infected, of which 95% have latent in-
fection. Of these 5% of the infected
hosts develops TB within the first 2
years and 5% in remaining life span.
Nowadays 95% of all TB cases are
detected in developing countries. Here,
40% of the HIV infected patients deve-
lop TB within the first 4 months and
subsequently 10% per year develops
TB for the remaining lifespan. Myco-
bacterium bovis is responsible for tu-
berculosis in cattle and in many other
domestic and wild animals. The disease
in humans is indistinguishable from
infection with M. tuberculosis with
regard to pathogenesis, lesions and
clinical findings. Humans are infected
by animals, especially bovines, but also
from other livestock kept for milk and
meat production, including goat, deer,
buffalo, sheep and camels. The propor-
tion of cases of human disease due to
M. bovis shows considerable regional
variation depending on the presence
and extent of disease in the cattle po-
pulation, the social and economic situ-
ation, the standard of food hygiene and
the appUcation of preventive measures.
As bovine tuberculosis is stUl present in
most developing countries, a risk exists
for zoonosis via milk consumption and
through direct contact. Slaughter-
houses in urban areas might be con-
sidered as an important risk factor for
both personnel and direct environment.
EspeciaUy in regions with a HIV epi-
demic, the risk for human to human
transmission of M. bovis becomes real-
ity. Multi drug resistance of M. bovis in
humans is a major concern.
The increasing demand for milk (pas-
teurized or non-pasteurized) in develo-
ping countries act as an extra risk fac-
tor as milk consumption is higher in
the quot;new middleclassquot; where HIV inci-
dence is high. The development of a

Dr. W. Chadambura pres-
ented an overview of the
requirements for meat pro-
duction in Zimbabwe
(Photo: De Gooijer)

milktest for the detection of M. bovis
infection may in the future replace the
role played by meat inspection and
intradermal tubercuUn tests

Cysticercosis is a medical problem
Prof. Z.S. Pawlowski of the Clinic of
Parasitic and Tropical Diseases, Uni-
versity of Medical Sciences, Poznan
(Poland) and Dr. P. Schantz of the Na-
tional Centre for Infectious Diseases of
Atlanta (Ga, USA), jointly presented a
paper summarizing the recent progress
in the control of Taenia solium
taeniasis/cysticercosis (t/c). In particu-
lar, two excellent diagnostic tests have
been developed i.e., the T. solium spe-
cific immunoblot assay for serum anti-
bodies and the Taenia spp. coproanti-
gen assay. Better epidemiological base-
line data have been coUected, especially
on the focality of T. solium infections.
As there are effective drugs available,
pilot control programmes have been
initiated in Mexico and Ecuador. More-
over, a recombinant protein vaccine
against cysticercosis in pigs is almost
ready to a practical use. In spite of this
one should not forget that humans are
the only source of infection and that
control should be concentrated on
human taeniasis; the disease is a medi-
cal problem! FinaUy T solium infection
has been declared potentially eradica-
ble by a recognized international body
in 1992 (Task Force for Disease Eradi-
cation).

Prof. Pawlowski indicated that when
veterinary and medical services work
together, much can be gained if the
post-mortem detection of cysts in pigs
at the slaughterhouse can be linked to
the household where the animal came
from. In such a case the whole family
should receive treatment. Although
significant progress has been made,
there are several obstacles to a success-
ful programme such as lack of local
awareness of a cysticercosis risk, insuf-
ficient veterinary-medical cooperation,
effective drugs not available locally,
lack of a national control programme
and, finally, very slow sanitary and
economic development in the actually
endemic countries.

Dr. MA.S. Harun of the Veterinary
Faculty of the Eduardo Mondlane
University, Maputo (Mozambique)
described the post-civil war livestock
situation in the urban and peri-urban
areas of Maputo and Tete. Throughout
the seventeen years of civil war in Mo-
zambique thousands of traditional
farmers sought refuge in urban centres.
Animal density here is extremely high
and can have damaging effects in these
populated areas. SmaU stock kept by
displaced people in urban areas are
poultry (chicken and ducks), pigs, goats
and rabbits. The slaughter of cattle and
pigs is subject to government licensing
for health and disease control purposes.
However pigs, poultry and goats are
generaUy sold alive and slaughtered at
home. In the urban areas of Tete, pigs
are reared freely and human sanitation
is poorly developed, causing severe
problems such as human cysticercosis
and taeniasis. Intensive poultry produc-
tion by smalUiolders is related to
salmoneUosis in humans. It was rea-
lized that the information available was
very fragmented and often not conclu-
sive. However, under the present eco-
nomic conditions it could not be
expected that veterinarians or the pu-
bUc health service would perform such
investigations. Surveys don\'t pay!

Risks of leishmaniasis
Prof. Dr. E.J. Ruitenberg of the
Utrecht Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
noted in his presentation that in 1995,
88 countries, including many developing
countries, were affected by leishmania-
sis. The WHO estimated in 1995 that
some 12 milUon people in the world

could be infected and 350 million at
risk, of whom some 1,5 to 2 milhon wiU
be infected each year. The Leishmania
are transmitted from man to man or
more often from a non-human host
(e.g. dog, rodent, fox) to man by the
bite of dipteran sandflies. Leishmania-
ses are principally rural diseases. How-
ever, infections do occur in peri-urban
sites as well, because at places were
garbage is left around housing sandflies
can breed. But also high humidity of
the soil and cracks in constructions
provide suitable conditions for breed-
ing. Thus, primitive housing and low
standards of hygiene increase the risk
of transmission in peri-domestic areas.
In the New world leishmaniasis is
usually predominant in low-income
groups, living in peri-urban compounds,
close to the sylvatic cycle. Control strat-
egies depend on in depth knowledge of
transmission sites, human behaviour
and more specifically on the role of
domestic and wild animal reservoir
hosts and the possibilities of sandfly
control. In the case of domestic dogs,
mass screening by serological and chni-
cal examination is used to identify
symptomatic or seropositive dogs, fol-
lowed by antileishmanial treatment.
Until now no vaccine against any form
of leishmaniasis has been shown to be
effective. Various vaccines against vis-
ceral leishmaniasis are being tried in
dogs m Europe and these may prove to
be an important means of reducing in-
fection in this reservoir host. With
financial support from WHO the infec-
tion model in the dog is being further
evaluated to test the efficacy of candi-
date vaccines. In conclusion Prof. Rui-
tenberg noted that urbanization of
these primarily rural infection and
disease pose an emerging risk.

Dr. K.K.I.M. de Balogh of the Veterin-
ary Faculty of the Eduardo Mondlane
University, Maputo (Mozambique),
presented an interesting paper on risks
and control measures for rabies in
urban areas in southern Africa. The
abstract of the paper is included in this
issue of EOUATOR. She concluded
that urban rabies can be controlled in
countries such as Mozambique and
Zambia, where people are ready to
bring their dogs for vaccinations as
long as the population is well informed
and the campaigns adequately planned.
Short intensive vaccination campaigns
that are able to mobihze manpower
and resources for brief periods are
more cost-effective than the conven-
tional punctual vaccination campaigns
extended over longer periods of time.
Especially the low-income and peri-ur-
ban areas should receive most attention
as unrestricted dogs, low vaccination
coverage and reduced awareness of the
population about rabies expose them to
a increased risk of the disease. The
hmited number of available doses for
post exposure treatment demands for
rational utilization of these expensive
drugs, justifying the organization of
rabies vaccination campaigns in dogs.
A good cooperation between veterinary
and human health institutions is essen-
tial creating a good communication
network and sharing resources for
rabies control. Clear directives for
persons bitten by dogs and the stream-
lining of a referral system will avoid
unnecessary delays. Facihties for the
capture and observation of dogs have
to be reactivated and the re-introduc-
tion of a simple collar with a coloured
chip indicating the year of vaccination
would enable the easy determination of
the vaccination status of a dog for a
timely initiation of appropriate treat-
ment to reduce the risks of rabies.

The last speaker at the symposium was
Dr. F.H.M. Pistoor of the Institute for
Virology of the Erasmus University in
Rotterdam. This institute is also the
WHO Collaborating Centre for
Haemorrhagic Fevers and Arboviruses.

He presented an overview of the cur-
rent knowledge about the rather mys-
terious and frightening disease caused
by Ebola viruses. In the seventies se-
veral outbreaks of lethal haemorrhagic
fever occurred in northern Zaire and
southern Sudan, and the filoviruses
which caused these outbreaks fell into
two distinct biotypes: Sudan and Ebola.
From 1976 to 1996 there have been 987
cases in humans recorded in Africa of
which 719 died (73%). Overall 4 diffe-
rent Ebola strains were identified from
cases in Zaire, Sudan, Gabon, and
Ivory Coast. An other filovirus, Mar-
burg virus, was diagnosed in Uganda,
Kenya and Zimbabwe. The recent
outbreak of haemorrhagic fever caused
by Ebola virus, that started in Kikwit,
Zaire in 1995, in which about 80% of
the clinical cases died, caused great
fear that the infection would start
spreading globally. There is much inter-
national attention for this disease.
Research in the tropical areas is con-
centrated on the search for hosts and
vectors e.g. dogs, bats, chimpanzees
and small monkeys, insects and even
plants. In laboratories the molecular
biological studies should lead to diag-
nostic tests and vaccines.

In his closing remarks Dr. Meslin
noted some parallels in the presenta-
tions of the day. Problems develop and
increase significantly under conditions
of mass movement, war, draught and
famine. Diseases known from rural
areas are \'moving\' into the peri-urban
areas e.g. cysticercosis, leishmaniosis,
rabies and bovine tuberculosis. Cities
are not homogeneous as they have he-
terogeneous populations with different

levels of disease risk requiring different
approaches. Two aspects are most im-
portant in the improvement of veterina-
ry pubhc hygiene. These are: pubhc
health education and improvement of
infrastructure e.g. slaughterhouses and
rendering plants.

Control methods that have been suc-
cessful in the past in Europe cannot be
transferred to developing countries as
the disease patterns are different, like
for example in neuro-cysticercosis and
zoonotic tuberculosis. New techniques
that could be of additional value are
e.g. a vaccine for bovine tuberculosis, a
vaccine for porcine cysticercosis, an
oral vaccine against rabies in dogs and
products which can be orally adminis-
tered for the control of reproduction in
dogs. Development of improved tech-
niques for hygienic production of meat
and meat products and the develop-
ment of new methods for control, diag-
nosis, treatment and prevention of
disease under urban conditions, are
essential for a successful veterinary
pubhc health pohcy in the next 20
years. Dr. Meslin made a specific
appeal to the audience for better con-
tacts between veterinarians and the
medical and environmental sector. His
motto was: \'Keep in touch\'.

(Readers of EQUATOR who are inter-
ested in the details of the presentations
can obtain a copy of the \'Abstract
Book\' on a written request from the
editorial office).

Rabies (from rabidus latin. = mad) is a highly fatal nervous disease of humans
and all warm blooded vertebrates, caused by a virus (family Rhabdoviridae) which
is present in sahva late in infection. The virus is generally transmitted by the bite
of a diseased animal, most commonly dogs and other carnivores. In more affluent
societies of the industriahsed nations, the risk of human beings contractmg rabies
has mmimised, albeit at a high cost. Rabies persists to cause numerous human
deaths and unmeasured human anguish and suffering in the less industriahsed
societies which comprise many developing nations. Global estimates show that
about 35.000 persons die from rabies and about 3.5 million receive post-exposure
treatment every year.

Almost all the reported death occurring in the developing countries. World wide,
more than 90% of all human cases are caused by dogs, even in those areas where
wildlife rabies is prominent. In Southern Africa rabies is considered an endemic
disease. The first confirmed outbreak in the region was believed to have followed
the importation of an infected dog from England in 1892 and occurred in the
eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In most countries in Southern Africa, the
first rabies cases were reported around the turn of the century with the exception
of Lesotho where the first case only appeared in 1982.

Epidemiology of rabies in Southern
Africa

The number of human and animal ra-
bies cases reported from 1992-1994
vary among the countries in Southern
Africa and different conditions prevail
concerning the epidemiology of rabies.
Two main patterns can be distingui-
shed: the urban/dog and the rural-
/dog-wildlife rabies cycles.
In Zimbabwe most rabies cases are
diagnosed in jackals. Dog rabies is
suspected to be related to the out-

breaks in jackals. Most of the dog cases
originate from the communal (rural
subsistence farming) areas. In Bots-
wana genetic sequencing of rabies virus
has shown the existence of a mongoose
and a domestic dog variant. However,
most rabies cases are diagnosed in
cattle and goats. Domestic ruminants
are exposed to three main vectors, the
domestic dog, the mongoose and the
jackal which can host either virus vari-
ant.

Paper presented at the T Symposium on \'Tropical Animal Health and Production.Urbanisation:
veterinary public health consequences\'. Utrecht University, 27 September, 1996. Full text is
included in the \'Programme and abstracts\' of this symposium pp. 41-47.

ation governs to a large extend the
nature of the biological cycle of rabies.
As the central northern region consists
of mainly commercial farming, the
most common victims of rabies trans-
mitted by the black backed jackal
{Canis mesomelas) are goats, sheep
and cattle. In contrast, the far northern
densely populated region with mainly
agricultural subsistence farming, expe-
riences a more urban type of rabies
cycle where the dog is the main vector
and victim. In South Africa most rabies
cases are diagnosed in dogs. For the
period of 1994/1995 a total of 445 were
confirmed in this species. Eighty six
(86) percent of these cases originate
from the Kwazulu Natal Province. In
the other regions of South Africa the
jackal and the yellow mongoose (Cynic-
tis penicillata) are the most important
vectors. The drastic increase of dog
rabies cases in the Kwazulu Natal Pro-
vince in recent years can be partly attri-
buted to drastic changes in socio-eco-
nomic patterns, movement of people
and the unprecedented increase in
urban and peri-urban settlements.
Two large outbreaks (1980 and 1984)
were Imked fairly closely to the process
of urbanisation. Many people shifted to
the larger cities as a consequence of
the drought. At that time the situation
was brought under control through
mass vaccinations. In recent years, due
to pohtical and social unrest, the con-
trol of the disease has been hampered.
According to Bishop the 20 human
deaths in 1990 due to rabies were not
perceived to be a real problem in com-
parison to death by other causes such
as violence and motor accidents. The
urbanization rates recorded in the
Durban area are amongst the highest
in the world and people continue to
move into the cities, bringing with them
their dogs.

The Postgraduate Studies of the De-
partment of Tropical Veterinary Medi-
cine of the Faculty of Veterinary Medi-
cine, Freie Universitaet Berlin, is offe-
ring a compact training course in vet-
erinary epidemiology and animal health
management, from March to July 1997.
The course is conducted in English.
The five months course provides spe-
cialized training with particular re-
levance to the conditions in the tropics
and subtropics. The course consists of
five distinct modules of a duration of 4
weeks each; which can also be elected
separately.

Module 1: March, 1997
Introduction to Computer Use and
Orientation to Statistics:
Operating personal computers; word
processing; software programmes for
data management and statistics, e.g.
Excel, d-Base, Statgraphics; introduc-
tion to e-mail and the Internet; review
of mathematical background knowledge
and elementary statistics for non-statis-
ticians. Module I will also include a
brief introduction into the complex of
animal health and production in the
tropics.

Module 2: April, 1997
Epidemiology I and Statistics I:
Principles and concepts of populati-
on-oriented descriptive, etiologic and
clinical epidemiology; analysis of vari-
ance; experimental designs, correlation
and regression analysis; non-parametric
statistics.

Module 3: May, 1997
Epidemiology II and Statistics II:
Approaches for handling large data

sets; epidemiological intelligence: moni-
toring and surveillance; decision-ma-
king and animal health management;
modelling; multiple regression; logistic
regression; other multivariate models;
follow-up studies; life tables; Cox
regression; time series analysis.

Module 4: June, 1997
Management Tools I - Herd Health
Management in Selected Livestock
Production Systems:

Assessment and development trends of
livestock systems in developing coun-
tries; introduction to herd health con-
cepts and schemes; investigating herd
health problems in cattle and other
livestock; interrelationships in herd
health management.
Module 5: July, 1997
Management Tools II - Project Ma-
nagement in Livestock Development:
Project planning and assessment; live-
stock and health economics; geo-infor-
mation management, environmental re-
mote sensing and land use planning,
GIS.

The training course is targeting at
German and other European veterina-
rians with interest in a specialisation
within the framework of development
cooperation in the tropics and subtro-
pics, and veterinarians from developing
countries whose training needs comply
with the course contents.

A recognized degree in veterinary me-
dicine; Dr. med. vet. (or equivalent); at
least two years of relevant professional
experience; proficiency in English.
Scholarships and course fees:
A limited number of scholarships for
German participants is available (DM
1200,quot; plus family allowance of DM
200,- per month, of which 75 percent
are given as a loan). For participants
not qualifying for the above scholarship
scheme, course fees will be imposed;
details available on request. On special
request, the modules can also be
attended separately, depending on the
participants\' needs.

Deadline for submission of applications
for the full programme under the scho-
larship scheme is 15 December 1996.
The following is required for complete
application: Personal history,
two recent passport photographs,
copies of qualifications (academic certi-
ficates), statement on the motivation/-
interest/expectations related to the
course. For applications and informa-
tion concerning the Compact Course
1997 as well as the Diploma-Course on
Animal Health Management starting
March 1998, please contact:
Freie Universitaet BerUn, Weiterbilden-
de Studien Tropenveterinaermedizin,
Luisenstrasse 56, D-10117 Berhn, Ger-
many (Tel: 49.30.2093-6063; telefax:
49.30.2093-6349. E-mail:
TropVet@city.vetmed.fu-berlin.de).
Information about the Postgraduate
Studies in Tropical Veterinary Medi-
cine is also available on Internet: http:
//wwwl.Vetmed.fu-berlin.de

The Dutch Committee for Afghanistan - Veterinary Programmes is a foundation with headquarters
in Lelystad, The Netherlands, with as main aim the provision of basic veterinary services to
Afghan livestock owners. Under its responsibility a Veterinary Training and Support Centre
(VTSC) has been functioning, originally based in Peshawar, Pakistan. Since its inception eight
years ago, the project has trained over three hundred paravets and a number of vaccinators, who
are deployed inside Afghanistan within veterinary field units, often under the umbrella of FAO.
In the course of 1996, also the training activities have been transfered to locations inside
Afghanistan.

Early 1997, we intend to start a new field programme in the Western provincies of the country.
For supervising this new phase of the programme, the Board of the Foundation is looking for a:

The Project Manager will be, together with the Afghan counterparts, responsible for the ongoing
training programme and the implementation of the fieldprogramme. Managerial skills, including
some financial management experience, are essential; experience in third world countries and
some computer experience, especially database management, is appreciated.

Offered is a contract for one year, with possibility for extension (depending on donor
acceptance). Salaries are on NGO-level, in this case approaching Public Service remuneration
within The Netherlands. Duty station: Herat.

Applications containing full CV can be submitted to:
Dutch Committee for Afghanistan - Veterinary Programmes
Rozengaard 13-10, 8212 DE Lelystad, The Netherlands.

In Zambia there are still great prob-
lems of underreporting of rabies cases
as a result of poor infrastructure, insuf-
ficient specimen collection, long dis-
tances to diagnostic laboratories and
poor sample conservation.
Generally, rabies is most prevalent in
dogs and most positive cases came
from urban areas. The risk of human
exposure is associated with canine
rabies as dogs are kept at human habi-
tations mainly for security. For the
period of 1992-1994, the incidence of
human rabies was quite high accoun-
ting for 92 human cases out of a total
of 231 or 40% of the total confirmed
rabies cases. The capital city Lusaka
registered 29 cases for the year 1993
only. Also in Mozambique dogs are by
far the most important animal species
responsible for the transmission of
rabies, either between animals, or to
man. So far there is no evidence that
other animal species play an important
role. Most of the dog rabies cases
come from urban and peri-urban areas.
For the period of 1992-1994 58 human
rabies cases were confirmed although
only 53 positive animal cases were
reported. This clearly indicates an
extreme underreporting of animal cases
partly due to poor veterinary infrastruc-
ture and because dogs manifesting
strange behaviour are often killed wit-
hout samples collected for confirma-
tion. In 1992 there was a significant
increase of human cases, as Nampula
Province reported 21 cases. During the
war, towns became overpopulated with
people from rural areas bringing their
animals (e.g. chickens, goats and dogs)
with them.

The number of dog bites reported to
the main medical centre in Lusaka
(population: 1 million) and Maputo
(population: 1.5 milhon), capitals of
Zambia and Mozambique respectively,
consisted of almost 1000 dog bites per
annum/city. In Lusaka the data on
human exposure to bites were regis-
tered in a poorly kept note book and
the absence of specific pre-printed
forms reduced the accuracy of the data.
In Maputo, the forms did not include a
breakdown by sex. The change of the
registration format after 1992 hindered
some data comparisons. For both cities
the group above 20 years appears to be
most often bitten. In Lusaka for the
year 1992, 40% of the patients with bite
wounds reporting to the University
Teaching Hospital (UTH) were adult
males followed by 26% of male
children. Adult women only accounted
for 15%. It was suggested that most
men are bitten at night on the streets
when dogs are most aggressive. Male
children often are bitten when playing
or teasing dogs. Studies, especially
carried out in Latin America show that
children account for the largest percen-
tage of human rabies cases. The age
group 1-14 is most affected as 26% of
bites are inflicted on the head and
neck, as compared to only 12% in
adults. The incubation period was
observed to be shortest in those
children bitten in the mentioned areas
of the body. No data on age distribu-
tion of rabies victims in Zambia and
Mozambique could be traced back. In
Maputo and Lusaka most people bitten
came from the poorer areas of town. It
is not clear if persons bitten in the high
income areas might seek treatment in
one of the few private clinics. In Lusa-
ka, the registration of UTH did not
contain any information on the kind of
treatment apphed but 80% of the dog-
bites had been inflicted either by un-
vaccinated dogs or by dogs of unknown
vaccination status. For Maputo, in 1992
and 1993, 20% of persons bitten
received rabies post-exposure treatment
(P.E.T.). For 1994 no data could be
obtained and in 1995 only 43 out of 981
persons bitten or under 5% received
P.E.T. It was mentioned that the Min-
istry of Health had only received 100
courses of P.E.T. for the whole coun-
try. Especially in rural areas and in the
poorer areas of tovm persons had less
access to specific preventive treatment.
The treatment given at the health insti-
tution mainly consisted in wound dress-
ing and if available in a course of teta-
nus injections.

Three hundred persons were inter-
viewed at the three main market places
in 1996 in Maputo. They were asked
the area of the city where they lived,
type of housing, household size, num-
ber of dogs and dog keeping practices.
Further questions related to histories of
dog-bites and general knowledge about
rabies. The effectiveness of different
communication media was also asses-
sed. Interviews with persons bitten by
dogs indicated that 80% went to a
health centre after exposure and most
indicated to have received some kind of
injection but were not able to teh what
kind it was. The general knowledge
about rabies was very low. Forty four
(44) percent of persons interviewed did
not know what rabies was or had erro-
neous concepts and 34% did not know
that rabies was a fatal disease. In seve-
ral cases rabies was defined as a venom
transmitted by a dog bite comparable
to a snake bite.

Therefore, the treatment would consist
of placing a tourniquet near the lesion.
One person claimed to know a tradi-
tional healer able to cure rabies and
snake bites. Nevertheless 88% of per-
sons interviewed indicated they would
go to the hospital or a Health centre
after a dog-bite.

From previous informal interviews car-
ried out in Mozambique and Zambia it
is interesting to note that in several
occasions persons mentioned the pla-
cing of burnt hair from the biting dog
on the inflicted wound as a way to
avoid rabies. No clear explanation for
this procedure could be obtained.
Simple recommended procedures such
as the washing of a bite wound with
soap under running water was rarely
mentioned.

A dog-ecology study in which 1105
households were interviewed in a high
density/low income area in Lusaka the
capital of Zambia in 1992, yielded a
surprising low dog:human ratio (1:45).
Generally an average of 1:10 is esti-
mated for urban areas. In Maputo
however this extreme difference could
not be observed. The high income
areas have a ratio of 1:8 and the poorer
areas lay slightly under the 1:14 ratio.
In the rural areas studied, the dog:hu-
man ratio varied between 1:5 and 1:7 in
both countries. The reasons for keeping
dogs in the rural areas were mainly for
hunting and security and to a lesser
extend for animal herding. In Lusaka
and Maputo most dogs are kept for
security reasons and some only as pets.
In the high income areas of Maputo,
50% of the households living in houses
and 26% of the respondents living in
flats keep dog. Especially the dogs kept
in flats have hardly any contact with
dogs on the street. In the high income
areas in Maputo and Lusaka Ukewise
the houses are surrounded by a wall or
iron fence and the dogs are mainly
kept inside. Furthermore most of these
dogs are regularly taken to one of the
few private veterinary clinics in town or
to the veterinary faculty for vaccination.

The medium and low income areas
30% of the households keep dogs.
Here the risk of rabies is higher due to
the increasing number of dogs, the
dogs being less restricted and their
vaccination status not always well
defined. Only 7% of respondents living
in reed constructions kept dogs. Half of
the respondents without dogs indicated
they disliked dogs or never thought of
having any, some mentioned the lack of
means/suitable housing as a reason for
not keeping any dogs. Some mentioned
difficulties to acquire a dog. As dog
theft is common in Maputo, there does
not appear to be an excess of dogs as
observed in urban areas in Latin
America and Asia. The lower rate of
urbanisation in Africa and reduced rate
of survival for dogs could have contrib-
uted to this.

adult males and the adult male:female
ratio was almost 2:1. Further the mor-
tality of puppies tend to be very high
due to high parasitic infestations and
Parvovirosis. Dogs in the poorer areas
of town are not restricted and roam
around in search of food, nevertheless
they tend to have an owner. A straydog
is often not tolerated and especially
when acting strange might be killed by
the local population. On the central
waste disposal area in Maputo many
dog bites are reported especially as
occurring at night when human and
dogs scavenge the refuse.
The role of cats and monkeys has so
far not been clearly assessed. During a
large vaccination campaign in Lusaka
where over 9000 dogs were vaccinated
during 2 days in 1992, only 2 cats were
presented for vaccination. In Maputo it
was surprising to see the number of
monkeys, mainly vervet monkeys (Cer-
copithecus aethiopicos) kept as pet and
regularly brought for vaccination. Dur-
ing the interviews most persons associ-
ated dogs with the transmission of ra-
bies and only 2 persons mentioned the
role of cats and monkeys as a possible
vector.

The goal of mass immunization pro-
grammes is to break rabies trans-
mission cycles by immunizing at least
80% of the dogs in each community. At
present in Zambia and Mozambique
the control of dog rabies is still inade-
quate. In Lusaka and Maputo a more
cost-effective control method was tried
out. The conventional campaigns last-
ing several months, shifting vaccination
points to different areas of the city,
utilized manpower and vehicles for long
periods. A short and intensive vaccina-
tion campaign mobilizing resources and
concentrating on the medium to low in-
come areas resulted to be more effi-
cient. For punctual activities, the
limited budget for rabies control can
often be supplemented by donor and
charitable organizations. At present the
introduction of a cost recovery system
for rabies control does not appear to
be feasible as rabies being of pubHc
health interest the vaccine should be
continued to be provided for free dur-
ing campaigns. With regard to man-
power, the participation of veterinary
students during these campaigns is
perceived as a very useful practical
experience and this activity could be
integrated into the veterinary curricu-
lum.

In Mozambique the government in-
stalled after independence (1975) from
Portugal had a very efficient network of
information dissemination through the
neighbourhood political structure
(grupo dinamizador). Persons were
informed to bring their dogs and
people were used to follow instructions
without questioning. Nowadays, the
population has to see the purpose to
have their dogs vaccinated as punitive
measures are not enforced. In view of
the low level of knowledge about ra-
bies, the need for an intensive public
awareness campaign especially prior to
the organization of vaccination cam-
paigns is essential. From the interviews
conducted it appeared that television
and radio still have a major impact in
reaching especially the urban popula-

tion. The use of local languages was
also emphasized. A vehicle with a me-
gaphone making short announcements
about dates and locations is also indis-
pensable. Schools play an important
role in creating awareness among
schoolchildren. The use of posters
appears to have less impact as they are
often removed.

As most dogs were brought for vaccina-
tion by young boys, campaigns should
be conducted during school free pe-
riods (hohdays or week-end) and pre-
ferably in the dry season to avoid heavy
rains deterring people to bring the dogs
to the vaccination points. The insti-
tutionalization of a fixed day each year
could further reduce the preparatory
costs.

Zambia where people are ready to
bring their dogs for vaccinations as
long as the population is well informed
and the campaigns adequately planned.
Good collaboration between the health
authorities and the veterinary services
concerning rabies surveillance and
control is advisable for prompt action
in case of an outbreak. Short intensive
vaccination campaigns that are able to
mobilize manpower and resources for
brief periods are more cost-effective
than the conventional punctual vaccina-
tion campaigns extended over longer
periods of time. Especially the
low-income and peri-urban areas
should receive most attention as unre-
stricted dogs, low vaccination coverage
and reduced awareness of the popula-
tion about rabies expose them to an
increased risk of the disease. The
Hmited number of P.E.T. demands for
its rational utilization. A good cooper-
ation between veterinary and human
health institutions is essential creating a
good communication network and
sharing resources for rabies control.
Clear directives for persons bitten by
dogs and the streamlining of a referral
system will avoid unnecessary delays.
Facilities for the capture and observa-
tion of dogs have to be reactivated and
the re-introduction of a simple collar
with a coloured chip indicating the year
of vaccination would enable the easy
determination of the vaccination status
of a dog for a timely initiation of ap-
propriate treatment to reduce the risks
of rabies.

(Veterinary Faculty, Eduardo Mond-
lane University, C.P. 257, Maputo,
Mozambique)

Johannes Kaufmann. 416 pages. 400
colour and 200 b/w illustrations.
Hardcover. Prize sFr. 68,-. Basel; Bos-
ton; Berlin: Birkhauser, 1996 ISBN 3-
7643-5115-2.

Many textbooks and manuals on parasi-
tic infections are available, often with
emphasis on certain species or certain
aspects of the diseases, or they refer to
specific climatical zones. This compre-
hensive manual however, is a tool for
the identification of cosmopolitan para-
sites affecting domestic animal species.
In this way it is a very useful asset for
laboratories which have no access to
well furnished libraries. The use of the
Standard Nomenclature of Animal
Parasitic Diseases (SNOAPAD) taxo-
nomy makes it possible to search for
specific literature from other sources
when needed. With its large number of
colour illustrations one gets a good
impression of the major features of the
infection, like the clinical picture, pa-
thological and/or histopathological
changes and macroscopic and/or mi-
croscopic images of the parasites.

The first chapter is concerned with the
various diagnostic methods for the
examination of faeces, muscle fibre,
blood and skin. Immunological
methods are described including prob-
lems which may arise. Special attention
(by guest authors D. Dobbelaere and I.
Roditi) is given to the recently deve-
loped molecular biological techniques
in parasitological diagnosis e.g. DNA
probes, PCR and DNA (RAPD)-PCR.
Using diagrams and comprehensible
language the methodologies can also be
well understood by non-specialists.

The subsequent chapters are respec-
tively dealing with parasites of cattle,
«mall ruminants, horses and donkeys,
dromedaries, swine and poultry. The
manual is easy to consult through its
colour-coded layout. For example
throughout each of these chapters
clearly distinguishable colour markings
are used to indicate the stages of the
parasites in the faeces, blood, urogeni-
tal system and internal organs or on
the body surface. Subsequently for each
of these locations the parasite groups
are systematically listed (protozoa,
rickettsiales, helminths and arthro-
pods). Clear diagrams illustrate the life
cycle of the parasites.

The manual is an excellent reference
source for the description of the para-
sites and the diagnosis of the infection.
The geographic distribution, symptoms
and significance for the affected animal

is broadly provided, and the most com-
mon therapy and possible prophylactic
methods are mentioned. What is mis-
sing is adequate information on the
relevance of the parasite infections as
herd problems and the possible effects
on the productivity. However, one
should realize that this a diagnostic
manual and the bibhography and hst of
references for further reading directs
the reader to more comprehensive
literature of the nineteen eighties.

Parasitic infections of domestic animals
is good value for money. The price is
kept very reasonable due to financial
support from the Swiss industry and
government. The manual will be of
great value for personnel in field la-
boratories, veterinarians and techni-
cians as well as teachers and students.
Meat inspectors and public health offi-
cials can certainly make good use of
this manual.

Recently a new international effort
\'The programme to clarify and solve
the problem of African Trypanosomia-
sis\' was initiated. The Programme
Committee consists of executive level
technical and pohcy advisors and repre-
sentatives of some of the major donor
organizations (e.g. IFAD, Worldbank,
UNDP and EU) and various bilateral
donor agencies. The objective of the
programme is to identify priorities and
provide overall direction and focus to
the investment of human and financial
resources.

Coordination at the technical level is
through a number of individuals who
coordinate specific subjects. The role of
the coordinators is voluntary and they
have the task of developing their own
advisory groups consisting of workers
with activities in that particular field.

The coordinators report to the Joint
Secretariat through an annual technical
meeting where priorities are identified,
progress is reported and problems are
discussed. The recommendations of this
meeting are forwarded to the Pro-
gramme Committee, which uses them
to decide at the executive level on the
focus and direction of the programme
guiding donors and governments on
how investments should be best made
to ensure effective disease control in
the context of food security and rural
development. A Memorandum describ-
ing the programme in more detail has
been published and a copy can be
obtauied upon request. The various
topics are:

If you are interested to become part of
an advisory (discussion) group you can
contact the coordinator. More details
about the specific subjects within each
of these topics and the names of the
responsible coordinator can be ob-
tained from IAEA, P.O. Box 100, A-
1400 Vienna (Tel.: 43.1.2060.26054;
telefax: 43.1.20607). For the subject
\'Disease and epidemiology of animal
trypanosomiasis\' the coordinator is Dr.
R. Dwinger at IAEA (e.mail:
dwinger@ripol.iaea.or.at).

In the spring of 1994 I participated in the course on \'Tropical animal health and
husbandry\' at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University. A logical
follow up to this course is a 6 months internship m a tropical country. During this
course I decided that South America was the continent I was interested in. At that
moment Africa was out of the question for me. But unfortunately the little tune
remaining to finish my veterinary studies, left me no room for a tropical intern-
ship. I thought!

However in spring 1996 I started making preparations for ... a 6 months tropical
internship in ... Tanzania; an internship with the Farming Systems Research
Programme in the Lake Zone of Tanzania. My job was to give veterinary assis-
tance in the setting up and monitoring of Village Animal Health Groups. A
concept whereby farmers are trained to provide basic veterinary care to their
cattle.

On the first of December I flew to Kenya. After 2 anxious weeks in Nairobi,
sending fax-messages from Nairobi to Mwanza via Utrecht, all official obstacles
had been tackled, and a bumpy nine-seater flew me to Mwanza, Tanzania and
gave the first view of the magnificent Lake Victoria. Six unforgettable months had
started.

The programme is jointly funded by the
Tanzanian and Netherlands\' govern-
ment. The programme supports re-
search concerning different farming
systems in the Lake Zone. Farmer\'s
input plays a very important role in
determining priority areas for research.

The livestock section of this pro-
gramme conducted a survey in 1994 in
order to identify development priorities
for livestock production. From this
survey it was concluded that one of the
priorities was the development of a
programme to intensify the use of
animal draught power. A programme,
with three technical components: farm
implements, nutrition of oxen and
health care of oxen, was than designed.
My study was concerned with the
health care of oxen.

The way the animal health services are
structured in Kwimba district, is a
major constraint to the provision of
animal health care to the village
farmers. Veterinarians do not operate
at village level. Village Extension
Workers are trained to provide veteri-
nary assistance and to pass on basic
knowledge on animal health care. How-

ever, due to lack of transportation,
equipment and drugs and to insufficient
veterinary knowledge, there is httle ve-
terinary assistance that actually reaches
the farmers.

Farmers in the district are interested to
undertake action in the field of animal
health care. However, lack of expertise
and guidance has withheld them to
undertake action. Veterinary care
should be provided at village level. A
possible way to achieve this is by de-
centrahzing animal health care through
the formation of Village Animal Health
Groups (VAHGs). Individuals are
trained to provide basic veterinary
assistance to farmers in the village.
VAHGs intend to complement the
existing government veterinary services.
Issues like vaccinations will not be
handled by the farmers themselves.
VAHGs will also remain dependent on
government veterinary services for
extension messages and for the moni-
toring of their activities.

The objective

The objective of my study was to test
whether VAHGs are a viable and sus-
tainable solution to the inadequate
veterinary assistance in the villages in
Kwimba district. Through this study the
best possible way of setting up and
monitoring VAHGs could be deter-

mined, which in turn will make exten-
sion to other districts in Tanzania pos-
sible.

The study started with the selection of
test villages and control villages. Selec-
tion was based, among others, on a
good internal organization. In these
villages a baseline study was done to
assess existing knowledge on animal
health and animal health care (modern
and traditional), and to determine
priority subjects for training. The vil-
lages formed groups of farmers inter-
ested in these subjects. These farmers
contributed money to create a revolving
fund, enabling the purchase of medi-
cine and equipment.
In each test village approximately 10
farmers were trained as Village Anunal
Health Workers. The training was
conducted in collaboration with an
experienced veterinarian working for
the Intermediate Technology Develop-
ment Group. The training covered
subjects such as: general animal health,
worm infections (consequences and
treatment), tick control and tick borne
diseases (diagnosis and treatment). The
training tried to focus on the impor-
tance of preventive medicine: an-
thelmintic treatments and tick control.
Aside from financial management and
bookkeeping, the farmers were taught
to keep detailed records of their acti-
vities, treatments and results of treat-
ments. Kits with basic tools and drugs
were distributed to these groups.
The groups were closely monitored.
Monitoring included subjects as: ve-
terinary competence, finance and drug
management, acceptance by village
farmers, group and individual function-
ing. Monitoring was carried out by FSR
staff together with village extension
workers, district veterinary officers and
a veterinarian from the Investigation
Centre in Mwanza.

The VAHGs have now been function-
ing for 5 months in 3 different villages
in Kwimba district. Although we are
still at an early stage of the study, a
few remarks can be made.
The success of a VAHG depends on
the internal organization and leadership
of the group. Good financial and drug
management are difficult, but essential
aspects. Especially in the beginning the
trainees need a lot of guidance and
rehearsing of new techniques and they
need to expand their knowledge. In
general the trainees are motivated and
hard working. Success depends very
much on the monitoring and guidance
of the VAHGs. Good communication
and collaboration with the veterinary
services are essential.
Where the veterinary services suppor-
ted the VAHG by providing them with
guidance and supervision, they them-
selves could benefit from this collabo-
ration by obtaining data on disease
incidence.

The provisional conclusion is that the
concept of decentralized animal health
care is very well received. Farmers
appreciate the services very much, and

are willing to work on improving ani-
mal health. Although in the first place
this work is concerned with cattle,
interest towards treatment of other
hvestock species is already growing.
It is the lack of knowledge and guid-
ance that has kept people from taking
action in the field of animal health.
The VAHG has provided them with
both.

Treatments of life threatening diseases
are most popular. Hopefully in the
future the emphasis will shift to pre-
ventive medicine, control of helminth
and tick borne diseases. The high inci-
dence of these diseases and the sub-
stantial economic loss they cause, jus-
tify this emphasis.

Measuring anthelmintic
drug. The tape is used to
measure the weight of the
animal (Photo: Erkelens)

Tanzania are unforgettable. The type of
work, the responsibihties, and the com-
pletely different surroundings made
quite an impression on me. I beheve
the most stimulating and rewarding
factor was the teamwork with the local
farmers. Their motivation, respect and
hospitahty taught me things that are
useful in any country, culture or future
job.

17 - 22 November, 1996
14quot;^ International Congress for Tropical
Medicine and Malaria. \'New goals for the
21\'\' century\'. Organized by: Science Council
of Japan, Japanese Society of Tropical Medi-
cine and International Federation for Tropi-
cal Medicine. Information: Dr. Hideyo Ita-
kura, Secretary General W ICTM Secre-
tariat, c/o The Institute of Tropical Medi-
cine, Nagasaki University, 1-1 2-4, Sakamoto,
Nagasaki, 852 Japan.

International Embryo Transfer Society
(I.E.T.S.), Annual meeting 1997. Topics:
Regulation of follicular and oocyte matura-
tion; Epidemiology of diseases related to the
use of E.T.; Progress with new sources for
genetic material in breeding; What deter-
mines sex in mammals; Intercellular com-
munication between embryo and recipients.
Information and registration: lETS, Annual
meeting 1997, UNCEIA, 149 Rue de Bercy,
75595 Paris Cedex 12 (Telefax: 33.1-
40045379).

Training Course on Veterinary Epide-
miology and Animal Health Management.
Organized by: Postgraduate Studies of the
Department of Tropical Veterinaiy Medicine
of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Free
University Beriin. Programme: see under
\'For your information\' elsewhere in this
EQUATOR. For information and registra-
tion: Freie Universitaet Berlin, Weiterbilden-
de Studien Tropenveterinaermedizin, Luisen-
strasse 56, D-10117 Berlin (Tel: 49.30.-
2093-6063; telefax: 49.30.2093-6349; e-mail:
TropVet@city.vetmed.fu-berlin.de).

FAO/IAEA Symposium on \'Diagnosis and
control of livestock diseases using nuclear
and related techniques\', \'Towards disease
control in the 21quot; century\'. Organized by:
The Animal Production and Health Services
of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division. Pro-
gramme: Serology, molecular biology,
epidemiology and socio-economics and their
current and future role in diagnosis, control
and eradication of the major diseases affec-
ting livestock. Location: VIC, Vienna. Infor-
mation and registration: IAEA, P.O. Box
100, A-1400 Vienna (Tel.: 43.1.2060.26054;
telefax: 43.1.20607;
e.mail: crowther@ripol.iaea.or.at).

4*^ Biennial meeting of the Society for Tropi-
cal Veterinary Medicine (STVM-97). Pro-
gramme: (1) Molecular epidemiology of
tropical diseases with subjects: Molecular
techniques and diagnosis; Epidemiology;
Application of molecular epidemiology to
tropical countries; Tropical diseases as a
model in molecular epidemiology. (2) Hemo-
parasitic diseases and their vectors with sub-
jects: Tick biology; Tick pathogen interac-
tions; Integrated control of tick and tick
borne diseases; Trypanosomiasis diagnosis
and control; Tsetse biology and control. (3)
General sessions: Contributed papers on:
Tropical veterinary medicine; Disease diag-
nosis, management and control, etc. Organ-
ization is in collaboration with CIRAD-
EMVT. For information: Internet STVM
homepage http://forest.bio. ic.ac.uk/STVM.
Information: Dr. E. Camus, CIRAD, BP
2386, Jarry Cedex 97002, Gouadeloupe
(FWI) (Tel.: 590.252490; telefax: 590.-
252492; e-mail: camus@cirad.fr).

FAO/IAEA Regional training course on:
\'The use of enzyme immuno assays in the
diagnosis and monitoring of Contagious
Bovine Pleuropneumonia\'. Training pro-
gramme: disease diagnosis by ELISA tech-
nology; data management; introduction of
concepts of the use of PCR and DNA pro-
bes in animal disease diagnosis and moni-
toring; practical training in these techniques.
Location: ARC, Onderstepoort Veterinary
Institute.

Application for scientists of African coun-
tries (IAEA scholarships are available): on
standard IAEA form \'Nomination for train-
ing course\', through Ministry of Foreign
Affairs or UNDP Office to: IAEA, P.O. Box
100, A-1400 Vienna (Telefax: 43.1.20607).
Closing date: 1 February, 1997.

XVIII Symposium of the Scandinavian
Society for Parasitology, with a special mini-
symposium on Human and Veterinary Tro-
pical Parasitology. Information: Secretariat
of Symposium Bomholm, Danish Bilhar-
ziasis Laboratoiy, Jaegersborg Allé 1 D, DK-
2929 Chariottenlund (Tel.: 45.39.626168;
telefax; 45.39.626121).

14 - 18 September, 1998
First announcement of the IX International
Conference of the Association of Institutions
of Tropica! Veterinaiy Medicine (AITVM).
Organized by: Faculty of Veterinaiy Science,
University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box MP 167,
Harare. Location: Intemational Conference
Centre, Harare.

EQUATOR is a periodical of
the Office for International
Cooperation of the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht
University.

Subscription is free of charge.
For changes in address and ter-
mination of subscription
please return the corrected label
to the editorial office.

quot;We had the luxury of three scientific
staff and two laboratory technicians. It
was an advantage that parasitology was
important to Nigeria, because the ani-
mals suffered from helminths and
blood parasites. Therefore we could do
research beside the teaching and that
proved to be of importance. The Ame-
ricans were understaffed. They were
fully occupied with their teaching pro-
gramme and had no time to adapt their
teaching programme to the local cir-
cumstances. For most disciplines this is
not a problem, but for instance in in-
ternal medicine it is a complicating
factor. Through research you can adapt
your teaching programme to the local
needs and it is important to know what
a Nigerian veterinarian needs to know:
care for the individual animal or for
the herd?

This is the second part of an interview with Drs. Henk Kuil, one of the Dutch
quot;pioneersquot; in tropical veterinary medicine. The first part was published in
EQUATOR, volume 8, no 4.

In March 1966, Henk Kuil and his family left the Netherlands again, this time for
Nigeria. The project was in Zaria, in the North of Nigeria, near the Sahel region.
A Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was to be established at the Ahmadu Bello
University, which was named after the then prime minister of North Nigeria. This
project was to be executed by the Kansas State University, but the contract stated
that Utrecht University would develop the parasitology department. The Dutch
part of the project was financed by the Netherlands\' Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and executed by the Institute for Tropical and Protozoan diseases of Utrecht Uni-
versity\'s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Diseases, had sent me to Zaria to teach
helminthology. In Surinam I gained
some experience in this field. But of
course my experience was limited to
the parasites that can be found in
Surinam. Now I had to teach helmin-
thology more extensively. Fortunately I
had a lot of time to study the subject,
because during my first year in Zaria
we did not have students.
In the beginning we were with two
persons. Dr. C. Folkers and myself.
Except for the building there was no-
thing, so we had to start from scrap.
This building was originally designed to
be a sports hall and when it was
assigned to us it was only a very large
room with a zinc roof. Inside this hall
we started to construct offices and
laboratories. Regarding climate control
this was an ideal spot because the hot
sun could not reach the walls of our
constructions. We did a lot of the car-
penting and drilling ourselves and soon
we started to collect goats, sheep and
cattle to study the parasites these ani-

mals were infected with. I was espe-
cially interested in quot;newquot; parasites.
We could demonstrate a diversity of
parasites, of which severid were already
known to exist in Nigeria. Soon we also
visited the local slaughterhouse to in-
vestigate organs of the slaughtered
animals.

Of course those quot;newquot; parasites were
not really unknown, but it was the first
time these were demonstrated in
Nigeria. It was also remarkable that
these parasites were wideley spread. All
the goats we splenectomized had
Babesia or Anaplasma. Beside these
parasites we also found Theileria in
cattle.

In the mean time we had started with 4
senior students who took two years
preliminary theoretical education at the
veterinary faculty at Ibadan. They came
to us for the clinical training. Those
students were Ibo and therefore they
had to flee when the violence of the
civil war started. We never saw them
back. That left us without students
again.

In a later period we got more students,
12 and then 20, soon increasing to 50.
So, the teaching programme had prio-
rity. The programme included clinical
teaching as well, but it was a problem
to obtain material; we often just went
out with the students and looked for a
patient.

Post mortem examinations
formed a part of the chnical
training (Photo: collection
Kuil)

Beside teaching we also developed a
research programme, aimed at blood
parasites like trypanosomes and
Babesia. This research was mainly
carried out by Van Hoeven and Fol-
kers. I was engaged with helminths in
sheep and goats, but mainly in sheep. I
got my material from the slaughter-
house and herds in North Nigeria, but I
also had my own flock of sheep. I invol-
ved the students in the investigations as
soon as they were ready for it.

Our third duty was the training of
counterparts. That was a problem,
because there were no counterparts. So
we had to train young staff to become
our counterparts. We were also lucky
because there was a biologist, Alamu
Mohammed, who came to us after one
year, to do entomology. He was mainly
interested in ticks and not so much in
tsetse because a lot of research on
tsetse was done in the colonial past in
Kaduna at the Tsetse Research Station.
Beside rinderpest and pleuropneu-
monia, a contagious disease of the
lungs, trypanosomiasis was the main
cattle disease in this region. The ento-
mologist Alamu later became head of
the department and subsequently vice
chancelor of the Ahmadu Bello Univer-
sity.

Our second counterpart was one of our
students. After his graduation he
became engaged in protozoology.
Later, he went back to his home area
in the south, where he too became a
vice chancelor. So, our first two coun-
terparts ended up well. My counterpart
arrived at the time I was preparing to
leave in 1970. We only shook hands,
but my direct successor Tjaard
Schillhorn van Veen co-operated with
him.

We left the Netherlands in March,
1966, and already in May the first
troubles between Haussa and Ibo
started. In September of that year
Ahmadu Bello was assassinated. Of
course this caused a great instability.
Not only houses were burned down but
also massacres occurred. This was the

reason for the secession of Ibo and
surrounding territory and the decla-
ration of indepedence of Biafra. The
federal government could not tolerate
this and a civil war started. We did not
notice much from this civil war except
for some riots and roadblocks after
every kilometer. The soldiers recog-
nized our cars and we could pass these
roadblocks. Of course there came a
shortage of certain products. For
instance, it was not possible to buy
jenever and Gouda cheese anymore,
but this was no constraint.

From the colonial period originated a
structure of 4 regions. One big north-
ern region and 3 smaller in the south.
One of the causes of the Biafra war
was the discrepancy between the North
and the South. The northern region
was much bigger as for area and inha-
bitants. Within the federation the
North always won the elections and
that stirred up bad feelings, as the
southern region was according to west-
ern standards more developed. At the
end of the 19th century the British
advanced to the north and established a
quot;governmentquot; in this region through
quot;indirect rulequot;. The people accepted
this under the condition that missionary
work and therefore also mission
schools were not allowed. The north
was muslim country. Therefore there
was little western influence, in contra-
diction to the south where mission
schools flourished. The Ibo in the south
got secondary or even university educa-
tion. But they had nothing to say
because the politicians from the north
always won the elections. To avoid a
conflict Nigeria was devided in at first
12 and later 18 provinces with auto-
nomy to a considerable extent. Every
province wanted to have his own uni-
versity. And these universities needed
staff. Therefore our second counterpart
went back to his home land where he
got a position at the university. And I
can tell he was not the only one who
returned to his home land. This caused
problems for the continuity, but, the
veterinary faculty of Ahmadu Bello
University still exists up to today.

Our social life mostly took place on
campus. Apart from the other Dutch
there were Brifish, Americans, Swedes
and Poles. It was a rather big, mixed
group. The children went to the staff
school. We taught our children the
Dutch language and later geography
and history of the Netherlands and
Europe. Our freedom of movement
was limited, due to the Biafra war. At
first I went to Lagos and Ibadan, but
later it was no longer allowed to travel
to the South. It was impossible to cross
the river Niger unless you had a per-
mit. This permit was not granted to us.
But to be honest, because there was a
war going on we did not feel much of a
need to travel to the South. Of course
we travelled in the North. For mstance
I had to visit a research group at a
sheep breeding station once in a while.
Because it was dangerous to drive at
night these visits usually took 2 or 3
days. We did not feel unsafe living in
Zaria. The violence between Haussa
and Ibo was not directed towards us.
And of course we did not interfere.
Our cars were often checked to find
out if we were transporting Ibo. Later
the Haussa started to plunder and burn
down the houses of Ibo who had left or
were murdered. That made us feel
uncomfortable, not in the least because
we were wealthy in comparison to the
local people. In those days the embassy
issued a plan to flee the region. We
had to collect petrol and keep our
suitcases ready. However, my wife and
I would have been unable to leave
because my wife was too weak due to a
severe hepatitis. Fortunately the vio-
lence stopped at once and after these
events it remained quiet in Zaria. This
was for me reason to believe that the
violence was initiated by the authori-
ties.

We had our own vegetable garden and
kept poultry. You could say that we
lived comfortable although there were
long periods that there was no electri-
city available. The powerplant was run
by Ibo before the troubles started.
Their places had been taken over by
Haussa, who used to be the assistants.

We returned to the Netherlands in
1970 because our children had to start
their secondary education. I could
return to the Institute of Tropical and
Protozoan Diseases in Utrecht. That
was still possible in those days. In the
mean time Dick Zwart had become the
new professor. He was familiar with
Nigeria, because he had worked as a
virologist at the Federal Research Insti-
tute at Vom. As such he had visited us
sometimes in Zaria, once as an external
examiner. He also adviced us on seve-
ral occasions. This was one of the ad-
vantages of working in Nigeria to work-
ing in Surinam, because in Surinam you
were much more isolated.
In Utrecht I participated in the teach-
ing programme and in research. At
first the research was on coccidiosis
and later in the field of Babesia. Fur-
thermore, I participated in several
committees which had to advice on the
restructuring of the teaching pro-
gramme of the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine. To my pleasure I can
observe that the plans we had in the
seventies are now under serious con-

It is inevitable that we need a drastic
differentiation, leading to a separated
competence. The current curriculum is
too full. We had plans to develop 2
different subjects, namely a pubhc
health and a clinical subject.

I worked until 1988. In that year there
was not only a re-organisation in the
field of education, but also in the struc-
turing and staffing of the departments.
This was necessary because the large
number of small departments was not
efficient. Furthermore, the Institute was
the last to move to the faculty\'s new
premises in quot;The UithoP. After the
quot;rich yearsquot; budget cuts were inevi-
table and fights for space started. I did
not like that at all. It became necessary
that even in our small department
people had to leave. So I thought about
it for a while and came to the con-
clusion that if I would leave somebody
else could stay. So I proposed an early
retirement. I had worked in the tropics
for 12 years, and these years counted
double in my pension build-up. Shortly
after this decision Professor G. Uilen-
berg was offered a research position in
Paris, France, which he took. Because
of this double departure the depart-
ment was no longer able to fulfill its
teaching obligations. So they asked me
to help them out. Which I did, and I
must admit, with great pleasure,
because now my farewell was less
abrupt. Subsequently, in 1990, I was
one of the editors of the proceedings of
the 6th International Conference of
Institutes for Tropical Veterinary Medi-
cine on Livestock Production and Dis-
eases in the Tropics.

I think that of the people who left the
faculty 8 years ago due to this
reorganisation, I am one of the very
few that still visit the faculty and still
know people. But, I must admit that
the last time I visited the department
of Infectious Diseases and Immunology

The entrance of the Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine of
the Ahmadu Bello Univer-
sity in 1968 (Photo: collec-
tion Kuil)

In 1985 a cooperation was initiated
between Utrecht University\'s Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine and the Costa-
rican Veterinary School. This Veteri-
nary School is part of the Universidad
Nacional (UNA), founded in 1973 in
the city of Heredia, Costa Rica. It is
one of only two centres of veterinary
education in Central America, the
other one being situated in Guatemala.
In the first three years of the project
(1985-1988) one Dutch veterinarian was
based at the Costarican Veterinary
School (Dr. Jan van Amerongen, one
of the senior staff members of the
Utrecht Ambulatory Chnic) and much
attention was paid to restructuring the
last year of the five-year course. A
rotation of the students over important
clinical disciplines such as Large Ani-
mal Medicine, Large Animal Surgery,
Herd Health and Companion Animal
Medicine and Surgery was introduced,
after the model of Utrecht\'s Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine. Also, an
ambulatory clinic was set up and large
investments were done in the infra-
structure that was required.
The concept of herd health was not
unknown in Costa Rica. Denominated
quot;Asistencia Veterinaria Planificadaquot;
(Planned Veterinary Assistance), the
idea had been introduced by the late
Uruguayan veterinary surgeon Marco
Podesta who had played a very impor-
tant role in the first years of the UNA
Veterinary School. In the Netherlands,
the concept of herd health had been
promoted zealously by professor Arie
Brand and some of his co-workers
from the mid-seventies on. Initially,
data acquisition and analysis were done
by hand, but soon this became the
limiting factor. Then, the electronical
revolution and the unstoppable rise of
the computer opened the way for
another approach. In 1982 Noordhuizen
and Buurman published their herd
health computer programme VAMPP
(Veterinary Automated Management
and Production control Programme).
This programme was designed for a
microcomputer to be used for educa-
tional and research purposes, but, on
demand from the field a version for PC
was developed that could be used by
private practitioners and stockholders.
Van Amerongen brought the pro-
gramme to Costa Rica, but it was his
successor, Dr. Mees Baaijen, who
became one of the most ardent promo-
tors of the programme. In fact, shortly
after his arrival the whole project
turned from the clinical focus it had
until then, towards the introduction,
translation and further development of
VAMPP. Baaijen even managed to in-
clude in his team the technical father
of the programme, Jan Buurman, to
assist in the further development and
adaptation of the programme. It were
the fruits of these efforts that were
presented and discussed at the semi-
nar/workshop in Atenas.

From September 30 - October 2, 1996, the quot;Escuela Centra Americana de
Ganaderiaquot; (Central American Livestock School), situated In the lovely moun-
tainous landscape near Atenas in central Costa Rica, formed the environment
in which a seminar was held to mark the end of the cooperation programme
between the Veterinary School of the National University of Costa Rica and the
Faculty of Veterinary IVIedicine of Utrecht University.

About 25 people attended the seminar,
originating from all countries of Cen-
tral America except for (English-speak-
ing) Belize. Most countries were repre-
sented by one or two delegates, but
there was a strong 6 man delegation
from Panama and of course a rather
large delegation from Costa Rica. The
latter included representatives from
various organisations that are con-
nected to the livestock sector such as
the Association of Holstein Breeders
and the National Dairy Board, but
there was also somebody from the
quot;Instituto Nacional de Aprendizajequot;
(National Institute for Teaching, a kind
of educational extensionist
organisation).

The venue was the Central American
Livestock School, a para-academic
institute that offers a three year course
in livestock sciences. It is like the Vete-
rinary School of regional importance
and many students come from other
Central American countries than Costa
Rica. A tour of the premises guided by
a very enthousiastic teacher made clear
that this is a well-organized institute
that deUvers students who are very well
prepared for their future jobs. Another
indication of the quahty of the institute
is that three of the staffmembers of the
Herd Health Project, Mario Herrero,
Cesar Solano and Eladio Alvarez, are
pupils from this school. All three of
them have obtained their master\'s
degree and two of them have done or
are preparing their PhD theses. The
school offered simple but adequate
housing facilities for the guests coming
from abroad and the catering could be
quahfied as excellent with many home-
made products like various types of
cheese.

The first day of the three-day seminar
was mainly dedicated to general con-
cepts in herd health. There was an
interesting talk by Stella Eefde, a
Dutch agronomist who is working in a
project on sustainable land use in the
humid region of Guacimo, which is
situated in the lowlands of the Atlantic
zone. Recently, this project has been
extended to the semi-dry area of Gua-
nacaste on the Pacific side. From infor-
mation on the actual use of the land,

the potential of the area in terms of
fertility, and from the damages and
costs resulting from the use of
materials like biocides, the project is
able to calculate the optimal use of a
certain area, directed towards long-
term sustainable land use. A coope-
ration, using the livestock data from
VAMPP, is foreseen.
Mario Herrera presented another inte-
resting and related topic. He is one of
the staffmembers of the herd health
project almost from the first hour and
he has done his master\'s degree and
PhD thesis at the Edinburgh School of
Tropical Veterinary Medicine using
data from Costa Rica. His research
was, among other things, on the use of
tropical grasses like Kikuyo which is
allegedly the best pasture grass in the
Costarican highlands.
Discussion in the afternoon focused on
the question how to include smallhol-
ders in herd health programmes like
VAMPP. This was an interesting dis-
cussion as one of the recent poHtical
goals of the Dutch international coop-
eration programmes has been to
improve the position of the smallhol-
ders. Of course, everybody agreed that
for this type of stockholders automated
herd health programmes were of no
use. Moreover, this type of farmer will
disappear for the same reasons as in
the western world. It was thought to be
rather hypocritical to reinforce the
position of smallscale farmers in the
third world while on the other hand the
Dutch government promotes efficiency
and the decrease of the number of
farmers at home. It should, however,
be kept in mind that the poUtical deci-
sions in The Hague may be based on
an assessment of the situation in Africa
rather than on the developed state of
the Latin American livestock industry.

The second day was dedicated to the
results of research that had been
carried out in the past years using
VAMPP databases. Cesar Solane held
an interesting talk on some genetic
aspects of livestock breeding while
Sandra Estrada, participant in the Herd
Health Project almost from the begin-
ning, focused on data concerning repro-
ductive problems. There was also
another presentation on pastures and
feedstuff by Mario Herrera and one on
growth curves of calves and heifers by
Solano.

On the third day attention was focused
on VAMPP itself, its use, the modules
that have been developed, and possible
future developments. Most of the day
was spent in the computer training
room of the School which was very apt
for this goal. VAMPP is now used on
more than 400 farms. The progrjunme
is relatively widespread in Costa Rica,
but it is by no means the only pro-
gramme that exists. The Holstein Asso-
ciation for instance uses another pro-
gramme for its genetic data. There are
plans to discuss the exchange of data in
the near future.

VAMPP appears to be widely accepted
in the main milk-producing province of
Panama, the Northern Chirriquf pro-
vince near the Costarican border. In
the other Central American countries
the programme is sporadically used on
some farms or by associations of vete-
rinarians. This has to be related to the
lack of development in the dairy indus-
try in those countries.
VAMPP has been adapted from a
Qnerely Dutch programme to a pro-
gramme that can be used under Cen-
tral American conditions. This re-
quired, apart from a translation, the
adaptation of many referential values.

Also, some extra modules had to be
developed, like a module for pastures
and nutrition, and a genetic module.
Future goals are the development of an
economic module and the introduction
of a single version for dairy cattle,
double purpose herds, and beef cattle.
Ths single version should offer the
possibihty of switching from one type
of farming to the other. Many examples
of studies based on VAMPP data (the
database now encompasses over 1
miUion entries!) were given. Some had
been revealing, such as the observation
that on a certain farm the gift of con-
centrates was so generous that the cows
got Hterally 0% of their energetic re-
quirements from the pasture they were
turned in daily. Or another study that
proved that the semen of one bull used
for A.I. had no fertility at all (this was
admitted by the commercial suppher of
the semen and farmers were offered
free inseminations with semen from
other bulls instead).

In the final discussion that took place
the last afternoon most participants
seemed convinced that VAMPP is an
important tool in herd health manage-
ment. Dr. Manuel Ruiz from IICA
{Instituto Interamericano de Coope-
racion Afficola or Interamerican Insti-
tute for Agricultural Cooperation)
outlined an existing plan aiming at
restructuring the livestock sector in the
whole Central American region. This
would require the formation of a net-
work of many organisations and institu-
tions. A system like VAMPP could be
used as a tool in this network. He
wondered if the development of
VAMPP had become the main target
of the project. Is it necessary to deve-
lop things hke economic modules with-
in a programme hke VAMPP or would
it perhaps be easier to use data from
VAMPP as input for already existing
economic programmes? Cesar Solano
answered that, though VAMPP re-
mained a tool, the development of this
tool was one of the goals of the project.
Mees Baaijen added that cooperation
with other data bases had failed thus
far, mainly because of the lack of relia-
bility of the other systems.

There is no doubt that the seminar and
workshop were very useful. Not in the
least because it provided the opportu-
nity for the participants to communi-
cate at a regional level and to discuss
the problems that were of concern to
them all. The atmosphere was very
friendly and many participants were
active in the plenary discussions after
the presentations. This led to some
problems with regard to the time sche-
dule of the meeting, but it was illustra-
tive for the active attitude and real
interest of many participants.

The achievements m the past years are
impressive. Many scientific articles have
been pubhshed or are in preparation
and a number of academic degrees are
the direct fruit of the VAMPP data-
base. Herd health is undoubtedly a
viable concept in the Central American
situation. This of course is only true for
the educated and somewhat progressive
dairy farmer, but that in itself is not
different from the situation in Holland
or any other part of the quot;developedquot;
world.

VAMPP is an excellent tool but its
significance should not be overrated.
The question remains whether it is
necessary to develop all possible mo-
dules and options within the pro-
gramme or to work on an easier com-
munication with other data analyzing
systems. Very important also is the
feedback to the farmer as he is the
person who decides whether VAMPP
or any other automated herd health
system will serve him or not.
The seminar in Atenas was a worthy
and successful end of a project that,
despite some quot;bumps in the roadquot;, has
made good achievements.

(Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
/ Boston / London; 1996, 2nd edition;
ISBN 0-7923-3821-9, hard cover, 548
pages, 73 figures, 41 tables, price Dfl.
355 or approx. USS 215)

\'Tropical animal health\' is the revised
edition of \'Tropentierhygiene\' published
in German in 1992. In this book on
animal health in the tropics the health
problems and risks of domestic large
animals in the tropics are presented in
a systematic way and in relation to
current production systems.

The book is divided in three parts. Part
I, which deals with \'veterinary health
care in the tropics\', is a revision of a
pubhcation of 1983 in the \'Göttinger
Beiträgen zur Land- und Forstwirt-
schaft in den Tropen und Subtropen\'
entitled: \'Theoretische Grundlagen der
tropentierhygiene\'. In this part defence
mechanisms are described as well as
the special relation which exists in the
tropics between animal host, vector and
disease agent, a relation unknown in
temperate zones. The resistance of the
local breeds is highlighted and pres-
ented in contrast to the disease suscep-
tibility of exotic breeds in tropical
zones. Instructions are provided how to
adapt immune- and chemoprophylaxis
to social-economic and ecological con-

ditions in developing countries.
The description of the immunology is
limited to the information needed for a
good understanding of the epide-
miology of livestock diseases in the
tropics and the execution of preventive
measures. In separate chapters the
biology and the control of vectors of
tropical diseases are extensively treated.
However, an integral discussion on the
biology and control of each vector
would have provided a more clear pic-
ture to the reader.

Part II of \'Tropical animal health\'
which is entitled \'animal diseases in the
tropics\', describes the ethology and
distribution, pathogenesis, chnical sym-
ptoms and pathological changes, and
diagnosis, therapy and prevention of
livestock diseases in the tropics. Em-
phasis is put on diseases which play a
role in the extensive production systems
of ruminants. Infectious diseases of pigs
and poultry in intensive production sys-
tems are not included. Unfortunately
the internal parasites are not covered
as well. Wrongly, the author defends
this omission with the statement that
affections caused by these parasites do
not differ substantially from similar
affections in the temperate zone.
The standard work quot;Tropische Tierseu-
chen und ihre Bekämpfungquot; by Mit-
scherhch en Wagener (1970) was used
as starting point for part II, and was
well completed with soil-borne diseases
and plant poisenings. Especially these
chapters of the edition have been
supplemented with recent information.
For the supplementation of the other
diseases in this chapter, the author
made extensive use of the standard
work \'Infectious diseases of livestock,
with special reference to Southern
Africa\' (edited by JA.W. Coetzer, G.R.
Thomson and R.C. Tustin), which was
pubhshed in 1994.

Although some more recent publica-
tions are cited in this 2quot;^ edition, the
available information from the litera-
ture is not always presented consistent-
ly. For example, in the section on try-
panotolerance of the West African
cattle breed, the N\'Dama, it is stated
that the resistance of this breed is
based on acquired immunity against
local trypanosome stains, and only
effective in this specific location.
However, already over 15 years ago it
was shown that the resistance is mainly
based on genetically determined me-
chanisms and consequently not limited
to the location where the animals kept.
This important observation resulted in
substantial export of N\'Dama from
West Africa to other parts of the conti-
nent.

In part III of \'Tropical animal health\'
(30 pages) the most important livestock
production systems in the tropics, na-
mely the nomadic system, the small
scale farming system, ranching, dairy
farming and feed-lot, are presented.

Attention is paid to the influence of
ecological, technical and social-eco-
nomic aspects. Based on these observa-
tions strategies for a veterinary health
care systems within these production
systems are described.

Although the book is presented as a
study book, it contains too many facts
and is too comprehensive to serve as a
study book for students. However, it
may very well serve as source of refe-
rence for the veterinarian who is active-
ly involved in animal health care in the
tropics.

The author, the editor and the Techni-
cal Centre for Agriculture and Rural
Cooperation (CTA) in Wageningen, the
Netherlands, have to be complimented
for their efforts to prepare and pubUsh
the English version of the first edition
of \'Tropical animal health\' which was
written in German. By doing so the
book is now open to the great majority
of potentially interested readers in the
developing countries.

The Royal Veterinary College (Univer-
sity of London) and the Institute of
Zoology (Zoological Society of Lon-
don) organize a MSc course on WILD
ANIMAL HEALTH. Applications are
invited from EU or overseas graduates
in veterinary or relevant sciences for a
12 months taught MSc course on wild
animal health. The course includes
practical and theoretical instruction in
the husbandry and nutrition of wild
animals, taxonomy, conservation ge-
netics, utilisation of wildUfe, welfare
and ethical aspects, epidemiology, im-
munology, infectious and non-infectious
diseases, disease investigation, thera-
peutics, imaging and preventive medi-
cine, and restraint, anaesthesia and
aspects of surgery in various taxa,
together with an individual research
project. Training will be given by the
staff at the Royal Veterinary College
and the Institute of Zoology as well as
invited speakers from other veterinary
and zoological centres.
Full particulars and an application form
are available from: Head of Registry or
Dr. M.T. Fox, Royal Veterinary Col-
lege, Royal College Street, London
NWl OTU (Tel.: 44.171.4685000;

The Department of Infectious Diseases
and Immunology of the Faculty of Vet-
erinary Medicine of Utrecht University,
The Netherlands, has developed an
educational video on cowdriosis (heart-
water) of domestic ruminants.

The (Enghsh spoken) video of 19.28
minutes duration, gives a short histori-
cal review of the disease, its geographi-
cal distribution and the important
vector ticks. It shows the clinical signs
and pathology associated with heart-
water and provides information on
diagnosis, therapy and prevention.

The video is produced by Roeland
Wessels DVM, with scientific advise
from Frans Jongejan PhD, and is deve-
loped especially for use in educational
and training programmes on tropical
veterinary medicine.

Copies of quot;Cowdriosis of domestic
ruminantsquot; can be obtained for the
price of US $ 50.

Include a cheque of US $ 50, made
payable to the address above
Allow 30 days for delivery.

Applications are invited for the follow-
ing posts in the School of Veterinary
Medicine,

Candidates should have DVM or equi-
valent and at least four years university
leaching experience. For the toxicology
post experience in toxicologic pathology
is an advantage.

Annual salary range: (Medical) Lec-
turer TT$ 98,928 - TT$ 109,104 (B) -
TT$ 127,920; Assistant Lecturer TT$
80,592 - 85,680, plus an Institutional
Allowance ranging from 10% to 20%
of basic salary depending on post. AU
posts: Regional allowance, study, travel
and book grants.

Apphcations, naming 3 referees and
detailmg qualifications and experience,
should be sent as soon as possible to:
Campus Registrar, The University of
the West Indies, St. Augustine,

Trinidad. Further particulars will be
sent to all apphcants and are also avail-
able from Appointments Department,
association of Commonwealth Univer-
sities, 36 Gordon Square, London
WCIH OFF, UK (Tel.: 44.171.-
3878572 ext. 206; telefax: 44.171.-
8133055; e-mail: appts@acu.ac.uk).

The section RECENT PUBLICATIONS is included in the English issues of EQUATOR. Scientific pubhcations of the Facul-
ty of Vetermary Medicme and other research institutes in The Netherlands, relevant to hvestock production and health in the
tropics as well as titles of papers by Dutch veterinary scientist working on animal health and production topics in relation to
developing countries, will be included. Please inform the editor of your pubhcations so we can bring them to the attention of
the readers of EQUATOR. For reprints contact the authors directly, their addresses can be obtained from the editorial of-
fice. Copies of \'7 Symposium on Tropical Animal Health and Production. Urbanization: veterinary pubhc health
consequences. Utrecht, 27 September, 1996. Eds. J.HA. de Gooijer and R.W. Paling\' are available from the editorial office.

Oliveira, d\' C., Tijhaar, E.J., Shiels, B.R., Weide, M. van der, and Jongejan, F. (1996). Expression of genes encoding two

major Tlieilena annulata merozoite surface antigens in Ercherichia coll and a Salmonella typhlmurium aroA vaccine
strain. Gene 172: 33-39.

Steward, N.P., Uilenberg, G. and Vos, A.J. de (1996). Review of Australian species of Theileria, with special reference to
Theileria buffeh of cattle. Tropical Animal Health and Production 28: 81-90.

Uilenberg, G. (1996). Prevalence and importance of tick-borne diseases hi Africa. In: Ticks and tick-borne diseasj^^ Af^
Report on a workshop held at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, South Africa, 4-7 September 1995 Eds A D
Irvm, C.G. Stewart and G. Uilenberg, pp. 3-15.

Dam, J.T.P. van, Heide, D. van der, Hel, W. van der, Ingh, T.S.G.A.M. van den, Verstegen, M.W.A., Wensing, T. and Zwart,
D. (1996). The effect of Trypanosoma vivax infection on energy and nitrogen metabolism and serum metabolites and
hormones m West African Dwarf goats on different food intake levels. Animal Science 63: 111-121.

Dam, J.T.P. van, Hel, W. van der, Hofs, P. and Zwart, D. (1996). The relation between feed intake responses to successive
trypanosome infections of trypanotolerant West African Dwarf goats. In: Dam, J.T.P van, The interaction between
quot;quot;^quot;tion ^ metabohsm jn West African Dwarf .goats, infected with trypanosomes. PhD thesis Wageningen
Agngultural University, The Netherlands.

Dam, J.T.P. van, Schrama, J.W, Hel, W. van der, Verstegen, M.WA. and Zwart, D. (1996). Heat production, body
temperature, and body posture m West African Dwarf goats infected with Trypanosoma vivax. Veterinarv Quarterly 18:

Hamminga, B.J., Wensing, Th. and Zwart, D. (1996). Changes in hver and fat depots of West African Dwarf goats (Capra
aegagus hircus) after an infection with T. vivax. Comp. Biochem. PhysioL 113A: 401-406.

Harun, MA.S., Afonso, S.S., Ferro, C.M., Vilela, F., Sotomane, I. and Veeneklaas, R.J. (1996). Public health risks of inter-
urban producüon ^d consumption of small stock in Tete Province, Maputo, Mozambique. In: Svmposium on Tro-
pical Animal Health^ Pmductimi. Urbanization: veterinary public health consegnenre.. Utrecht, 27 september, ïm
Eds. J.H.A. de Gooijer and R.W. Paling, pp. 34-35.

Krol, B. Valorization of animal by-products for reasons of safety and quality. In: T^ Symposium ^ Tropical Animal Health
and Production. Urbanization: vetennaiY mbjie health consequences. Utrecht 97nbsp;1996 Eds JHA de

Balogh, K.K.I.M de (1996) Urban rabies: risks and control measures in southern Africa. In: 7^ Symposium on Tropi..! Ani

^M^md Production. Urbanization: veterinary ^ubHc h^ conseouence.s. Utrecht, 27 september, 1996. Êd7
J.HA. de Gooijer and R.W. Paling, pp. 41-47.nbsp;gt; f gt;

Bongers J^H. (1996). Present status of tuberculosis as zoonosis in urban areas. In: r; ^posium on Tropical Animal Health
^ Production. Urbanization: veterinary public health consequences. Utrecht, 27 september 1996 Eds JHA de
Gooijer and R.W. Paling, pp. 25-28.nbsp;\' \' ■ • •■

Osterhaus, A D.M.E. (1996). Ebola virus: the cause of a \'new\' zoonosis? In: 7^: SymEosium ^ TroEiml

iOig^te. Urbanization: veterinary JBubUc health consequences. Utrecht, 27 september, 1996. Eds. J.H.A de Go(Äkr
and R.W. Paling, pp. 48.

Ruitenberg, EJ-, Pinelli, B.E. and Rutten V.P.M.G. (1996). The intra-urban epidemiological pattern and risks of leishmanio
SIS In: X, SMOMon Animal Health and Production. Urbanization: veterinarv nublic health mn.Pnn.n...
Utrecht, 27 september, 1996. Eds. J.H.A. de Gooijer and R.W. Paling, pp. 36-40.nbsp;-

Nice, France
12 - 14 January, 1997
International Embryo Transfer
Society (I.E.T.S.), Annual meeting
1997. Topics: Regulation of fol-
licular and oocyte maturation;
Epidemiology of diseases related to
the use of E.T.; Progress with new
sources for genetic material in bree-
ding; What determines sex in mam-
mals; Intercellular communication
between embryo and recipients.
Information and registration: lETS,
Annual meeting 1997, UNCEIA,
149 Rue de Bercy, 75595 Paris
Cedex 12 (Telefax: 33.140045379).

Management. Organized by: Post-
graduate Studies of the Department
of Tropical Veterinary Medicine of
the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
Free University Berlin. Programme:
see EQUATOR vol. 8, no.5. For
information and registration: Freie
Universitaet Berlin, Weiterbildende
Studien Tropenveterinaermedizin,
Luisenstrasse 56, D-10117 Berlin
(Tel: 49.30.2093-6063; telefax:
49.30.2093-6349; e-mail: TropVet-
@city.vetmed.fu-berlin.de).

FAO/IAEA Symposium on \'Diag-
nosis and control of livestock dis-
eases using nuclear and related
techniques\', \'Towards disease con-
trol in the 21\'^ century\'. Organized
by: The Animal Production and

Health Services of the Joint FAQ/-
lAEA Division. Programme:
Serology, molecular biology,
epidemiology and socio/economics
and their current and future role in
diagnosis, control and eradication of
the major diseases affecting hve-
stock. Location: VIC, Vienna. Infor-
mation and registration: IAEA, P.O.
Box 100, A-1400 Vienna (Tel.: 43-
.1.2060.26054; telefax: 43.1.20607;
e.mail: crowther@ripol.iaea.or.at).

4*^ Biennial meeting of the Society
for Tropical Veterinary Medicine
(STVM-97). Programme: (1) Mole-
cular epidemiology of tropical dis-
eases with subjects: Molecular tech-
niques and diagnosis; Epidemiology;

Application of molecular epidemio-
logy to tropical countries; Tropical
diseases as a model in molecular
epidemiology. (2) Hemoparasitic di-
seases and their vectors with sub-
jects: Tick biology; Tick pathogen
interactions; Integrated control of
tick and tick borne diseases; Trypa-
nosomiasis diagnosis and control;
Tsetse biology and control. (3)
General sessions: Contributed pa-
pers on: Tropical veterinary medi-
cine; Disease diagnosis, manage-
ment and control, etc. Organization
is in collaboration with CIRAD-
EMVT. For information: Internet
STVM homepage http:
//forest.bio.ic.ac.uk/STVM.
Information: Dr. E. Camus,
CIRAD, BP 2386, Jarry Cedex
97002, Gouadeloupe (FWI) (Tel.:
590.252490; telefax: 590.252492;
e-mail: camus@cirad.fr).

FAO/IAEA Regional training
course on: \'The use of enzyme im-
muno assays in the diagnosis and
monitoring of Contagious Bovine
Pleuropneumonia\'. Training pro-
gramme: disease diagnosis by
ELISA technology; data manage-
ment; introduction of concepts of
the use of PCR and DNA probes in
animal disease diagnosis and moni-
toring; practical training in these
techniques. Location: ARC, Onder-
stepoort Veterinary Institute. Appli-
cation for scientists of African coun-
tries (IAEA scholarships are avail-
able): on standard IAEA form \'No-
mination for training course\',
through Ministry of Foreign Affairs
or UNDP Office to: L^EA, P.O.
Box 100, A-1400 Vienna (Telefax:
43.1.20607). Closing date: 1 Feb-
ruary, 1997.

XVIII Symposium of the Scandina-
vian Society for Parasitology, with a
special mini-symposium on Human
and Veterinary Tropical Parasitolo-
gy. Information: Secretariat of Sym-
posium Bornholm, Danish Bilhar-
ziasis Laboratory, Jaegersborg Allé
ID, DK-2929 Charlottenlund (Tel.:
45.39.626168; telefax; 45.39.-
626121).

3quot;* Course on: Artificial insemina-
tion in pigs. Subjects: Collection of
semen; Evaluation and processing of
semen in the laboratory; Insemi-
nation and sow production control;
Organization of an AI station and
Selection of breeding stock. Fees
including board and lodging: Dfl.
5,000. Information: IPC Livestock
Bameveld College, Dep. of Interna-
tional Studies and Cooperation
Programmes, P.O. Box 64, 3770 AB
Bameveld (Tel.: 31.342.414881,
telefax: 31.342.492813, e-mail:
io@ipcdier.hacom.nl).

10 - 15 August, 1997
16quot;^ International Conference of the
World Association for Advancement
of Veterinary Parasitology
(WAAVP). Organized by: Parasi-
tological Society for the Advance-
ment of Southern Africa. Informa-
tion: 16quot;^ WAAVP Conference,
Event Dynamics, P.O. Box 567,
Stathaven, 2031, South Africa (Tel.:
27.11.8836155, telefax: 27.11.-
8839643).

25quot;^ International course on dairy
farming in rural development. Cour-
se programme: Introduction; Dairy
development; Farming systems;
Statistics; Economics and agricul-
tural credit; Breeding; Pasture pro-
duction; Nutrition and feeding:
Animal health; Reproduction and
AI, Extension and case studies.
Course fee: Dfl. 5,500. Closing date:
1 May, 1997. Information and regis-
tration: International Agricultural
Centre (lAC), P.O. Box 88, 6700
AB Wageningen (Tel.: 31.317.-
490111, telefax: 31.317.418552, e-
mail iac@iac.agro.nl).

18nbsp;August 1997 - 20 February, 1998
27quot;^ International course on poultry
husbandry andnbsp;International
course on pig husbandry. Organized
by: IPC Livestock International,
Bameveld College. These courses
will run at the same time. Following
these courses participation is poss-
ible in the 20quot;quot; International animal
feed training programme (AFTP),
which runs from 23 February to 22
May, 1998. Direct entry in this last
course is also possible. Fees includ-
ing board and lodging: Poultry
course: Dfl. 24,500; Pig course: Dfl.
24,500, Feed course; Dfl. 12,000 or
14,500 (direct entry). Closing date: 1
May, 1997. Information: IPC Live-
stock Bameveld College, Dep. of
International Studies and Coope-
ration Programmes, P.O. Box 64,
3770 AB Bameveld (Tel.: 31.342.-
414881, telefax: 31.342.492813, e-
mail: io@ipcdier.hacom.nl).

24 - 29 August, 1997
World Congress on Food Hygiene
and 12\'^ International symposium of
the World Association of Veterinary
Food Hygienists. Congress theme:
Healthy animals, healthy food,
healthy consumers. Information
scientific programme: Prof Dr. J.G.
van Logtestijn, Driekhnken 63, NL-
3972 EC Driebergen. Information
and registration: Royal Netherlands
Veterinary Association, Mrs. D.
Raasing, P.O. Box 14031, NL-3508
SB Utrecht (Tel.: 31.30.2510111,
telefax: 31.302511787, e-mail:
knmvd@pobox.ruu.nl).

6 -12 September, 1997
\'f\' International Theriological Con-
gress (7ITC) and Symposium on
\'Veterinarians in conservation biolo-
gy\'. The symposium is organized by:
World Association of Wildlife Ve-
terinarians. For information about
and contributions to the symposium
contact: Dr. A.W. Enghsh, Univer-
sity of Sidney, Department of Ani-
mal Health, Private Mailbag 3,
Camden, NSW 2579, Austraha (Te-
lefax: 61.46.552931).

14 - 18 September, 1998
First announcement of the IX Inter-
national Conference of the Asso-
ciation of Institutions of Tropical
Vetermary Medicine (AITVM). Or-
ganized by: Faculty of Veterinary
Science, University of Zimbabwe,
P.O. Box MP 167, Harare. Loca-
tion: International Conference
Centre, Harare,