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We\'re warriors too: Vets lobby government for PPE kits as another hospital shuts down

Two veterinary hospitals in Telangana have had to shut down in two weeks

Hyderabad: A second veterinary hospital in Hyderabad has been shut down after two of its employees tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

The rest of the staff of Government Superspecialities Veterinary Hospital at Narayanguda, 17 in all, have been asked to quarantine themselves at home.

The hospital will be sanitised before restoration of operations although restricted services will continue, Dr Parameshwer Reddy, district veterinary and animal husbandry officer, said.

Vets working for government veterinary hospitals have petitioned the government to provide them personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep them safe from coronavirus infection from the hundreds of people who come in for treatment for their pets.

This is the second incidence of coronavirus infection detected at a veterinary hospital in Hyderabad. A hospital run by the P.V. Narasimha Rao Telangana Veterinary University at Rajendranagar had to be shut down on June 16 after Covid-19 infection was detected in the family of a staffer. The premises had to be sanitisation before services could be resumed.

The hospital's in-charge , Prof E.L. Chandrasekhar, said: “The hospital since been sanitised and we resumed services but treatment is restricted only to emergency services.”

However, the cloud of Covid-19 hangs over the vets. Prof Chandrasekhar said a committee was going to meet to discuss whether or not to continue services.

The vets are lobbying the government to supply PPE kits to all state-run hospitals and field units to protect them from exposure to the coronavirus but there has been no response so far.

“We are frontline warriors too,” said Dr Madhusudhan, assistant director of animal husbandry. “But nobody seems to care for us.”

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