UVAS organises symposium on 'Bovine Udder Health'

The Department of Clinical Medicine & Surgery of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore in collaboration with Punjab Agriculture Research Board (PARB) organised a one-day "Bovine Udder Health Symposium" with the theme of "Healthy Udder Ensures Quality Milk" here on Wednesday in City Campus Lahore.

Vice-Chancellor University of Education Lahore (UE) Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha presided over the inaugural session of the symposium while Additional Secretary Livestock and Dairy Development Department Punjab Dr Iqbal Shahid, Dean Faculty of Veterinary Science Prof Dr Kamran Ashraf, Dean Faculty of Animal Production and Technology Prof Dr Anjum Khalique, Chairman Department of Clinical Medicine & Surgery Associate Prof Dr Syed Saleem Ahmad and a large number of academicians, practicing vets, researchers, dairy farm managers, farmers, professionals, students and faculty members were present.

While addressing the audience of the symposium, Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha urged organizers to make a mechanism to start a social media campaign for the guidance of livestock farmers regarding preventive measures, treatment and while milking how milking is done from mastitis-affected teats. Postgraduate students will play its vital role to run such social media campaign, he added. He said recommendations from experts would be very effective to curb mastitis issues and for the profitability of livestock farmers. Prof Pasha also supported minimum pasteurization law to supply high quality milk in Punjab.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Kamran Ashraf said that if one of the cow/buffalo teats is infected by mastitis, gradually whole udder is wasted due to swelling and spreading of mastitis. He said this symposium has been organised to curb mastitis issues. Dr Iqbal Shahid said that livestock department is focusing on control of mastitis issues which caused decline in quality milk production and economic loss of country and poor livestock farming community.

Dr Syed Saleem Ahmad presented the vote of thanks. At the end of inaugural session Prof Pasha presented shields to Dr Muhammad Nasir and Dr Iqbal Shahid.

Later Dr Iqbal along with Prof Dr Kamran Ashraf took a round of poster presentation and lauded the performance of students.

The objective of the symposium was to create awareness among livestock farmers and farm managers and gather professionals under one roof to discuss various issues regarding cause of mastitis, symptoms of disease, animal handling, precautionary measures to control disease & provide an opportunity to learn about most recent developments and exchange views on the future direction in bovine udder health research, application and services.

Eminent Professors and professionals including Prof Dr Ghulam Muhammad, Prof Dr Anas Sarwar Qureshi, Prof Dr Nasim Ahmed, Prof Dr Aftab Anjum, Dr Muhammad Nasir, Dr Sohail Saqlain, Dr Muhammad Awais, Dr Muhammad Ijaz, Dr Naveed-ul-Haq were the resource persons of the symposium. They delivered lectures on different topics related to bovine udder anatomical and physiological consideration, udder issue limiting production, how mastitis is developed and why does it occur, mastitis pathogenic agent spectrum in cows, how to deal with chronic mastitis, prevention of subclinical and clinical mastitis in dairy herd, mastitis therapy and antimicrobial resistance, bovine udder health and reproductive performance, nutrition and udder health monitoring and management of dairy herd, recent development in bovine mastitis vaccine and quality milk is imperative for quality human health etc.