Photo By Maj. Shamika Hill | Capt. Michael Brown, from Cleveland, Texas, and Spc. Michael Ingram, from Austin,...... read more read more
EL COCO, EL SALVADOR- Veterinarians of the 994th Medical Detachment Veterinary Services of Round Rock, Texas, are taking part in this year’s Beyond the Horizon humanitarian and civic assistance exercise here.
BTH is a humanitarian and civic assistance exercise in partnership with the El Salvador government that last from March to June in order to provide construction and medical assistance to the people of El Salvador.
Veterinary teams are going out into the local communities and providing deworming treatment, vaccinations and vitamins to cows, horses, goats, chickens, pigs and dogs.
“I enjoy this,” said Army Capt. Michael Brown from Cleveland, Texas, a veterinarian with the 994th MDVS. “It’s a chance to do something to help these people.”
The people of El Salvador use their cattle as a way of life, a means to living. The vet teams give vitamins and vaccinations to the animals in order to improve their health.
“The reason we are out here to vaccinate the animals is because they [cattle] are food for the country,” said Army Spc. Michael Ingram from Austin, Texas, a generator mechanic for the 994th MDVS.
“These are all subsistence farmers,” said Brown. “So what they raise they either eat or trade.”
During the vaccinations, the regional veterinarian of Santa Anna, El Salvador, Dr. David Bolanos, collects blood and stool samples from the cows to begin testing for parasites.
The vet teams are unaware if any of the livestock currently have parasites, but as a precaution, the teams are treating them as if they do.
“Most of the animals look healthy,” said Brown.
The vet teams are not only treating livestock, but dogs as well.
Treating the dogs helps to minimize the transmission of an intestinal parasite called roundworm.
“All of the intestinal parasites [from dogs] are transmittable to people,” said Army Capt. Yvette Breden from Albuquerque, New Mexico, a veterinarian with the 994th MDVS.
Roundworm can be transmitted through contact with dog feces or contaminated soil. It can cause eye, lung, heart and neurologic problems in people.
“The disease from dogs to kids is high,” said Brown. “It’s actually one of the leading causes of blindness in kids.”
Each day the 994th vet teams are going out and treating over 100 animals throughout the El Coco region. They encounter new families and animals and make a significant difference for the Salvadorans.
“It’s part of the job,” said Ingram. “I enjoy this stuff!”
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.16.2015 23:08 |
| Story ID: | 160299 |
| Location: | EL COCO, SV |
| Hometown: | ALBUQUERQUE, NM, US |
| Hometown: | AUSTIN, TX, US |
| Hometown: | CLEVELAND, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 246 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Veterinarians of Round Rock, Texas Make Their Rounds, by MAJ Shamika Hill, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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