17 May 2008

We traveled to Bannerghatta Zoo and saw the lions, tigers and sloth bears. Most of the cases the veterinarians treat here are lacerations from animals playing too rough or getting in fights. There was one mass on a tiger that was undergoing liquefaction from a necrotic center. A lion with a swelled ankle was receiving prednisalone. The animals did not have species specific dosing charts, and were simply dosed as a large housecat. Most of the bears were happy, and friendly with relatively few injuries. All had holes through their noses where they had rings placed while they performed in circuses. India has a ban now on all use of wild animals for performance in circuses and such. (I do not know if this applies to snake charmers.) There was a surgery suite next to here where some animals have been treated. A big-cat or bear surgery must be quite the experience. One lion with a hormone imbalance had lost his mane and looked more feminine. The Siberian tigers were kept separate and were larger in size. These cats were fasted every other day as they would not find food every day in the wild, this was more natural for them. The Dr. expressed how she wished all animals could be fed more naturally, opposed to what is convenient, but the animals were healthy and there is a lot of beaurocracy to go through to change anything in the zoo. She even has had to stop them from keeping all the animals completely isolated from one another, because the zoo thought there would be less injuries, but did not account for the mental well being of the animals. Most food was proportioned based on the sex and age of the animal, and not actual weight. Special needs animals that might have a sore mouth were switched from beef to chicken, liver, and milk. There is a tree with bright red flowered all around here, and Vibha showed us how to make a pop sound with the petals that she used to do when she was young. We toured the zoo, seeing the giant red squirrels, king cobras, hornbills, monkeys, hippos, and other animals. The zoo had a small diagnostic laboratory that was a satellite of the institute we were being trained at. They could run blood work and pathology there. The on call vet that took us around was an energetic, fun woman named Dr. Roompa. We had a nice dinner out with to Dean of the College and got to use an Internet café even, for 20 minutes, as some of the girls were measured for their sarees.

16 May 2008

Virology lab covered infection of chicken embryos as a diagnostic and culture practice. This allowed for specific lesions to form that might help identify a virus. We also learned how to subculture in the afternoon. There was a presentation on wildlife disease and epidemiology that was interesting. The presentation gave a good perspective on the variety of diseases affecting Indian wildlife. After relaxing a student (Ishmael) drove some of us to commercial street so the rest could fit in our rented car more easily. The girls all picked out sulvar suits and sarees. Matt and I traveled around and bought some knick-knacks and recharged my phone minutes. I learned that the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” was a symbol of Mahatma Gandhi. Afterwards we ate some Chinese food with the driver at a pretty classy restaurant. A few people even got a few drinks for the occasion. Outside here we met a girl that was frantically trying to sell roses to us. The fear in her eyes was truly terrifying to witness in such a young girl. She could not even take out money or candy when I offered it until I put it in her hand and closed it around the coins. Most people in the group did their best to ignore her. I only gave her the seven rupees change I had, but I hope she finds kinder crowds than us in the future. We drove back to the guesthouse with people piled on laps and good times were had all around aside from the one incident. The girls were about as giddy as possible after getting the chance to shop.

15 May 2008

We switched over to virology lab for the second day and learned about 1˚, sub and 2˚ cultures of cell lines, trypsinization, filtration, tools, media, and labeling of virology . After this I got my first use of internet since coming here which was nice to have. Dr. Chandranaik is an interesting teacher. He talks a little fast, but we follow ok. We are asked if we understand every few minutes, and if he doesn’t believe you he asks what you understand. When he asks questions, he gives you his answer, independent of the correctness of your answer, which I can’t tell if it is just for repetitions sake or not. We have a chicken burrito type thing for lunch, then visit a pug breeder. He says his business peaked after Vodaphone (a popular cell phone company) started an add campaign featuring a pug that followed a child around helping them have things they forgot. It is an extremely cute advertisement. The breeder imported some of his males from across the world, including one star from Florida. The Puppies can be sold for $400-$4000. The breeder is a Veterinarian who has us at his nice house. We get tea or coffee and some biscuits before heading off. The Indian standard for pugs is more compact and round in character than their American counterparts. In the afternoon we finished our morning lab and I saw my first wild Indian Monkeys! They walked about 2 ft. away from me actually, which was awesome, though I was a bit more excited about it than the monkey. In the evening we toured Bangalore. Some gorgeous botanical gardens were visited that was massive, but it was only myself, Matt, Tamika, and LaTisha that got to see it with Dr. Nadeem as the others were shopping. There was even a bonsai garden and lotus pond, with a glass house in the center of the park. The town hall was nicely made with a beautiful park in front that many people seemed to enjoy picnicking on. We drove by the largest Mosque in Bangalore and a huge race track with over 1000 horses housed there. Just driving around has been an adventure with the ox-pulled carts through the streets and amazing agility of our vehicle and driver. Following this, we joined the rest of the group to attend a wedding reception. Sitting near the front row, we watched as a seemingly never-ending line of people went to congratulate the bride and groom on a stage that was ornately decorated. There they posed for pictures and video, which was taken by people all around. Traditional and non-traditional music played in the background or was performed. Even we went up to congratulate the couple and were videoed and photographed with them. The wedding was for a sister of a veterinary technician Dr. Nadeem knew threw Dr. Shivaprakash. There was a teacher that talked to us there and was fun to speak with. He first attempted to introduce his grandchild to us (who wanted nothing less than this and squirmed away to play with other children). He said it was an inter-caste marriage but people were quite happy supporting them. These events are more frequently occurring now. This was followed by lots of really good food. Spicy tomato soup, a bunch of rice, curd rice, some bread stuff, a desert that is like a donut hole soaked in sweet milk, and one that is like a lemon/lime sugar rope. There was also fruit, ice cream, and betel pan. Everyone in the group tried the betel pan this time, weather they enjoyed it or not. One unfortunate incident involved salt being placed next to the fruit…which Lauren and Erin believed was sugar. Lauren took the brunt of this as she took the first bite of the startling food. Most of the girls ogled over the beautiful clothing, as they were already planning out their own sarees and sulvar suits. The girls also got marked foreheads and garlands of Jasmine in their hair. We each got a coconut for a parting gift. I was thirsty when I got back so cracked my coconut open and had a drink and snack. A bunch of us hung out talking till 1am, mostly talking about school and whatever else life is for us.

14 May 2008

After Breakfast we went to the Bacteriology Lab. While it moved slowly for some of the students yesterday, they seemed to take the response into account and move it along at a good pace with more involvement today. We ran a PCR and electrophoresis, and looked at several bacterial cultures. There is a photo of the Bacilis anthracis colony that causes Anthrax, also Clostridium tetani (tetanus), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). We were given a slide show of various diseases that helped us differentiate between Blue Tongue, PPR, and FMD in the field setting based on oral lesion location. Some pamphlets on various diseases were given to us which the 3rd years told us would be invaluable to us next year. One doctor gave us a brief astrology talk as he has studied almost every type of healing modality on top of having a veterinary degree. Following this we went to the Clinic. We looked at past radiographs taken of GI abnormalities. Some pictures can be put up later. It seems pica is a big problem here, and a stomach full of mud is not too unusual. We saw how to run a reagent standardized creatinine blood test which was interesting. The automatic chemistry panels most clinics have back home make life much easier than this.

An interesting case of a Yellow Lab with Osteosarcoma in the Left hind femur. The leg was massive for the already obese dog. Even with amputation the dog would have a grave prognosis, and most treatment is supportive. A Napoleon Mastiff came in with a bite wound that had turned gangrenous which reminded me of that familiar smell from the veterinary clinic I worked at 5 years ago. A female cat came in with a bite wound they presumed was due to post-mating aggression. Also we saw a Roti that played a bit too rough with his St. Bernard housemate and formed some small stress fractures in his leg. There was no need to really treat this, We went home and I still wasn’t eating much so I had a mango for dinner. For some reason I think I’m allergic to something in the room as I’m breaking out in hives on my arms at times, but who knows. I saw an add for the Morning After Pill asking “Afraid you might be pregnant after last night?” For some reason I still didn’t expect this in India. The close families and living situations did not seem to be conducive to needing it as much. Like I said though, India needs a close look. There was news report in Delhi about a man being put in Jail for 10 years for forcing his wife to abort a child. This was the first I had heard of a crime like this. Some of the more obvious things that seem big here are 70’s clothing (big collars, bell bottoms, mustaches, etc.). Also there are adds for Foster’s Beer all over the place for some reason.

13 May 2008

I woke up earlier than my alarm again, feeling ready for a solid day of work. Soon after this my body decided to go on strike. I was dehydrated, cramping up, and nauseous. I don’t know if this is due to anything big, or just because I took my anti-malarial after my meal last night and so it did not process well in my system over night. I also hypothesize that I have literally filled the capacity of my system with food to be processed, as we have been filled up to the brim. Just as I feel like I can get ready for the lab trip in 2 hours, another wave of stomach cramps begins and I’m out. I’ve always felt bad for women on their periods, and I feel this is pretty close to what a bad day feels like. And so I take the day to rest. As my stomach and rest of my body work itself out, I have lots of time to myself. Mostly I sleep, as my energy level has plummeted. A student of Dr. Nadeems brought me over some Mango Juice and a liter of water, which helped give me some vitality back. Every 15 minutes or so I would awaken with lots of energy, ready to learn about ELISA at the lab, and would quickly find myself in pain, hobbling back to the bed. Around 2:30 I could move around a bit, and at 3:45 a student (?Sandeep) from room 67 at the student hostel checked in on me. I walk over to the hostel with him to see where he lives in case I need help later. It was pretty cool to see the hostel. It is a big circle of room around a central field area. People have their clothes drying on the balcony around the circle, and a cricket match is going on in the field. Guys are walking around joking with each other and giving quick looks as to who this sickly looking new guy is walking around the place. The rooms are pretty small for doubles, and only have one window. The building is 50 years old. There is a jack fruit tree in the center too, and I would really like to try one of these spiky watermelons before I go. I head back to the room to nurse my mango juice and water. My CRT is still slow, and I’m pretty weak, but I’m feeling better at least. The group returns and I get the chance to go with them to the private practice. We see a bunch of cases at Dr. Shivaprakash’s offices. Here is the synopsis:
Brownie- 14 yr. Mix breed canine, post-op wart removal recheck and fluids
Choco- 15 yr., Male yellow lab, post-op laparoscopic needle removal from gut recheck
Stray- with severe mange was given sub-cut ivermectin injection.
Unknown- epithelial carcinoma in Inguinal Lymph node that pushed on the hip joint causing a hairline fracture. The right Femoral Artery and Nerve were also compressed and the femur was abducted. Antibiotic treatment seems to help reduce the mass
Golden Retriever- Allergic hot spot formation on Right Caudal Medial Dorsal position.
Pug Puppy- DACPP Vaccine
Stray with Distemper- learned a cool way to check for this. Placing pressure on their temple region causes the eyes to close, and if prolonged for 5-8 minutes should cause spasms.