Medical institutes hold workshop on health concerns of slaughterhouse workers

Health professionals from Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) conducted a one-day sensitisation workshop at the Municipal Corporation Slaughter House, Chandigarh, in collaboration with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. The event was organised under the aegis of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) project on building a surveillance model for detecting zoonotic spillover in increased animal-human interaction settings using a One Health approach.

More than 30 slaughterhouse personnel attended the workshop and interacted with the experts. The objective of the workshop was to raise awareness about occupational exposure to the zoonotic diseases (diseases transmissible from animals to human) and maintenance of good hygiene and sanitation practices at the workplace.

The workshop was presided over by Dr Inderdeep Kaur, Medical Officer (Health), Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh. Dr Kaur emphasised the vital role of collaboration between municipal health authorities and researchers in addressing zoonotic diseases. Dr JS Bedi, director, Centre for One Health, GADVASU, and Dr Deepali Kalambhe highlighted the importance of usage of protective gear while inspecting animals as well as during slaughtering. Dr Veenu Gupta, Professor of Microbiology at DMCH, highlighted the importance of hand hygiene to the participants.