Page 83 - University of Pretoria Research Review 2017

Foreword
Introductory Messages
DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE
PEOPLE AND CONTEXTS
Herding for Health
Vinny Naidoo, Veterinary Science
The work is undertaken in the Mnisi tribal area bordering the Kruger National Park and is one example that illustrates the success of translational research and multipronged interventions.
The Herding for Health project is an example of a pro-poor, rural development project that aims to respond to pressing local challenges. Herd monitors (with knowledge of primary animal health care) and ecorangers (herders with training in environmental and livestock management) work with scientists, local government departments, and communities to improve livestock production, while restoring degrading rangelands. In addition, the Herding for Health partners also support local farming cooperatives to take advantage of economic opportunities and improve their livelihoods.
The Hluvukani Animal Clinic serves people in the community by working to keep their animals healthy and disease-free. The resident veterinarian
is supported by UP veterinary students who in their final year do two-week clinical rotations in the Mnisi community. Students also visit schools and dip tanks for animal health awareness and information sessions, and the clinic serves as a centre to coordinate clinical research in the area, including longitudinal studies and sampling.
The clinic forms part of the Hans Hoheisen Research Platform that provides an appropriate local setting in which UP researchers and international collaborators can study zoonotic diseases. For example, bovine TB has become common in animals in the Kruger National Park, and has spread into rural cattle farming areas. Bovine brucellosis in buffaloes can spread
to domestic cattle, and from there into human populations. Other zoonotic diseases studied are tick-bite fever, Q-fever, Rift Valley fever, leptospirosis, bartonellosis, and arthropod-borne viruses. UP researchers and partners also study the rabies virus and a range of other fields of relevance, such
as foot-and-mouth disease, epidemiology, tick ecology, genetics, veld management and herding behaviour.
There are a number of other One Health projects at UP, with research in Veterinary Science now recognised by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and the World Organisation for Animal Health.
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
One Health
PLANET AND SUSTAINABILITY
Awards
Lead Researchers
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The One Health approach adopted by the Faculty of Veterinary Science, in collaboration with researchers in the Health Sciences and a number of disciplinary fields, is defined by its focus on the human-animal (livestock and wildlife) ecosystems interface. This includes disease ecology and emergence, zoonoses, livestock production and trade, land use, and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Professor Vinny Naidoo was Acting Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science in 2017.