Blood sample collection at Dechencholing

Blood sample collection for brucellosis screening at Dechencholing was the first clinical outcall that i've attended. The outcall case was led by Dr. Karma Choezang. 

Blood sample collection for the diagnosis of brucellosis is an important procedure in clinical veterinary practice to manage herd health and for zoonotic disease surveillance. Brucellosis is a bacterial disease caused by bruella, commonly brucella abortus in cattles. 

The bulls at dechencholing were free roaming bulls that were rescued and sheltered. Upon the owner's decision to relocate the animals to paro, pre-transport health screening and diagnostic examinations were necessary to be performed in accordance with the animal movement protocols and biosecurity. Total of four bulls age ranging from 2-4 years old were subjected to venipuncture for blood sample collection.

Challenges faced during that time was restraining the bulls because since the bulls were of local breed, they naturally exhibit aggressive behaviours and  while assisting in restraint, i narrowly escaped being hit by the bull. At that time the doctor asked us an interesting question ' if you ever encounter similar case where the bull is impossible to be restraint by human, what method will we use to restain the animal?', at that time we got familiar with sedating small animals so i answered 'sedating using anesthetic drug', the doctor asked me which anesthetic drug would i be using, the most commonly used sedating drug at national veterinary hospital was xylazin so we answered that 'it would be xylazin calculated according to the body weight of the animal'. 

The doctor explained that xylazine could also be utilized but the drug is accompained with side effects like hypersalavation and vomition, and that the best anesthetic drug that can be used on large animal is 'Guaifenesin'  often combined with ketamine and xylazin. Although the journey and the work that day was tiresome, we learnt a new anesthetic drug that is used on large animal and we also got an opportunity to collect blood from the jugular vein and middle coccygeal artery.