Summary
In developed countries, the application of
geographic information systems (GIS) and other geo-information technologies
in facilitating epizootiological studies of animal disease outbreaks,
disease reporting, monitoring, surveillance, prediction and intervention
(prevention, treatment and control) programmes, has been in vogue
for decades. Although not yet in the curricula of any of Nigerias
five veterinary schools, Veterinary geo-information technologies
have been promoted and applied at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Ibadan, Nigeria, since 2001. Limitations encountered
in the course of its application include poor, rudimentary and inconsistent
disease reporting procedures, non-computerised (manual) disease
recording techniques, raw unanalysed data, poor information networking
and poor awareness of the role of geo-informatics in veterinary
medicine. The major challenge is the development of sufficient and
relevant veterinary databases. Major needs include the training
and retraining of personnel involved in the use of GIS for veterinary
medicine, the acquisition of relevant hardware and software and
the funding of a Nigerian unit/centre devoted to GIS application
to veterinary medicine. While Nigeria necessarily develops a national
(veterinary) spatial data infrastructure, multilateral training
and funding assistance is needed for a developing country like Nigeria
to use developed country
geo-information technologies to reduce the impact of animal diseases
on animal and human populations.
Keywords
Applications,
Challenges, Geographic information system, Limitations, Needs, Nigeria,
Veterinary medicine.
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