Veterinary expert questions panel's findings

A veterinary expert and another member of the same team objected to the findings of the medical team constituted under the directive of Sindh High Court. The team, led by a Dow Medical University expert, submitted its report, alleging anthrax infection in the imported sheep without actually testing for the fatal disease.
Dr Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro, a foreign-qualified veterinary expert, expressed concern about the way sheep were being tested for anthrax by a "professor who basically deals with human diseases". According to him, the team leader physically examined some animals and claimed that the sheep were free of anthrax.
On the basis of the physical check-up, which itself was not a thorough, the team asked authorities concerned to stop culling.
According to Dr Nazeer, a general inspection of infected animals and taking some tissue samples was not enough to write a conclusive report.
The medical team, according to him, did not conduct autopsies of sheep.
"Only physical inspection of live animals doesn't make sense," he said.
Previously, it had almost been established that most anthrax symptoms had been found in some dead sheep at the farm. "Medical reports, pictures and videos prove this," he claimed.
Interestingly, Nazir, who wrote a note of dissent on the report submitted by the team in the court on Saturday, said he was not consulted or included when the team inspected sheep on Sunday.
Acknowledging that not all cases of "sudden deaths" are anthrax related, he said that a thorough lab exam was necessary to confirm the disease if it was even suspected.
According to Dr Nazeer, another member of the veterinary board set up by SHC, had also expressed his reservation on the fact that there was a deliberate attempt to misguide people that anthrax was not a dangerous disease. The veterinary expert, who got his PhD degree from Germany, said that no final decision should be made until results of lab tests from Sindh and Islamabad were received. The reports had been delayed because of public holidays falling on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Dr Nazir, who was selected by a German University as 20th best qualified student in 2002, holds four gold medals, and was awarded a PhD degree when he was just 25-year-old.
Professor Rafiq Khanani of the Dow University of Health Sciences is leading the board of veterinarians and microbiologists representing all respondents.