The Daily Moo...which isn't so daily: Gir breed cattleI am unhappy to announce that India has once again got the better of me and I’m on round #2 of traveler’s sickness. I was debating whether or not to just launch into the past week’s events or to disclose that little tidbit, but I think it makes for an interesting story. I aim to include all of my experiences in India, whether they be good, bad, or ugly (like this).
Getting sick is particularly distressing to me because in the States I rarely ever get sick, and I’m a stubborn SOB. I won’t show that I’m sick until I’m reeeaally feeling it and always try to jump back into things too fast. I’m not one for being babied and dragging it out. And I really, really don’t like it when all attention is on me…which tends to happen when you are the only white person in an Indian hospital. Yesterday, I had that great pleasure.
I started feeling sick in the morning. I couldn’t get cool and my head felt like a giant boulder on my shoulders at breakfast. Saturday I felt completely fine…the last time I had had any problem was the Tuesday before, when I had a mild fever and nothing else. It passed uneventfully. Sunday felt like that, only worse. I just couldn’t sit upright for very long and got extremely lightheaded and sweaty after even mild physical exertion. I decided to stay in the back of our 14 passenger van and lay across the seats in the air conditioning rather than visit the 1,000 year old temple which was next on our list. More on that later.
After passing up some other activities, our guide Dr. Balakrishnan decided that we would stop by one of the local hospitals and get me checked out. I couldn’t hear very well in the back of the van so I didn’t get a chance to protest, and next thing I know I’m there. I still don’t really think I needed to go to the hospital, as I was suspecting another case of traveler’s sickness. But I didn’t like the fact that I was sick last Tuesday as well and this was my 2nd bout of it. It made me worried to have a fever that often.
The nurses, like people do everywhere else, stared. This threw me off since I wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t up for staring, but they were very nice. The hospital was a relatively small, one story building open to the air with a bunch of exam rooms and a waiting area visible. I think this was more of a community hospital, like Lansing Urgent Care, than an actual big time hospital. I didn’t see too many high tech devices or too many rooms, but then again I was mostly just trying to figure out what was going on.
I got ushered around back to sit in the open air waiting room for my appointment, which came quickly. The doctor was an older gentleman who spoke English decently well, and asked me “how I liked India.” Bad time to ask, buddy. He listened to my heart, lungs and GI system, took a glance at my tongue, listened to my symptoms and diagnosed food borne sickness. I’m still not quite sure that that’s what it is, but he seemed pretty sure of it. I was thrown off by the fact that he didn’t ask for my drug allergies or current meds before prescribing a bunch of drugs, including an IV injection of some fever reducer and an antibiotic. The whole experience made me a little wary, but at least I’m at home now, and alive. I made sure to search my take home meds online, since I didn’t want to just be taking antibiotics willy nilly and all of the instructions were in Tamil.
Our group had joked at the airport on our first day together that one of us would have to visit the hospital just to see what it was like, and I got to be the lucky one. So…if this entry seems a bit negative…it’s just the sickness talking. I’m trying to remain positive in light of being sick three times, losing my luggage and just generally sweating all the time, but sometimes it’s hard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure at the end of this trip I’ll be extremely happy that I went and will realize all the things I’ve learned here. Just writing this blog helps me appreciate it. It’s just hard to see past my 103 fever from yesterday.
One thing I know for sure…I have never loved and appreciated the United States more than I do now. I miss driving my car, the food, the cleanliness of restaurants and homes, the foliage, the quiet, the clean smell of alcohol in hospitals…lots of things. I love a lot of things about India, too, but this place sure does make you homesick.
Now on to what happened the rest of the week.
Monday and Tuesday were mostly sample collection, going to the clinic in the morning and running tests in the afternoon. We saw a calf with an umbilical hernia, a cow with rumen acidosis, a cow with an interdigital abscess, a horse with forelimb tendonitis, a horse with saddle sores and a dog with subcutaneous emphysema. This condition occurs when air gets trapped between the dermis and faschia, which is the connective tissue which covers muscle and other things in the body. Air is generally introduced from the outside, such as when an animal’s trachea is punctured. That was the case with this poor pup, who was grabbed by the neck by another dog and developed the emphysema shortly afterward. You could feel the crepitus; air crackling under his skin all over his body. He felt like touching bubble wrap. To fix it, the doctor made three small incisions over his dorsum and released most of the air. It was something I’ve never seen before, and don’t know if I’ll ever see again.
Forelimb tendonitis
Umbilical hernia
The rest of the cases were your run of the mill mastitis, abortions, rumen impactions, not eating, etc.
Wednesday we headed to the veterinary school’s organized farm in Mahabdipurum (sp?) for sample collection. The farm is about an hour and a half away in a beautiful, breezy, mountainous area. It houses an ostrich breeding facility, sheep, pig, goat and cattle farm, “slaughter hall” (aka pathology lab) and a place to get lunch. A group of 50 veterinary students came with us to help us restrain the cattle, since there were no chutes or holding pens. We just manhandled them into corners and a few people held while someone else stuck. We were also forced to get blood with vacutainer needles that had no hubs…you know, the plastic pieces which make it so that you don’t stick yourself. All in all, it was a challenging but rewarding experience. We certainly felt like field vets after that one…improvisation is key!
After lunch, I visited the slaughter hall where our pathologist friend Ron (from across the way in the guy’s hostel) was doing his work. His project involves testing a vaccine for Johne’s disease on a flock of Madras Red sheep.
Unfortunately, like with many research projects, his trial required sacrificing the sheep, and this week was that week. After the act was done, he would have to perform necropsies and detail his findings. I could tell it was a hard experience for Ron, since he knew the sheep well even though they were never named. They also didn’t use a captive bolt gun on them before decapitation (they were slaughtered in a way similar to Halal slaughter). It was definitely hard to watch, but was over quickly and seemed relatively painless. We said a prayer for them before they were sacrificed. They also saved all the meat for consumption, which made everything seem a bit better. At least every bit of the sheep were used.
From left: Dr. Namalawar Srirangnathan, Dr. Bala Supramanion, Dr. Ron Tyler Jr., Dr. Ron Tyler Sr.
The necropsy lab was a far cry from DCPAH, but it was cool to see. The attendants walked around barefoot and didn’t wear gloves, but Ron and his father Ron Sr.(also a pathologist) did. There was a big cutting block that was literally a tree stump, and a stainless steel table. It was incredibly well ventilated and real sunlight flowed in. They used a Bunsen burner or something like it to sterilize instruments and Ron provided his own whirl bags and other things for samples. He made sure all samples were embedded in paraffin for their journey to the US. While we were there, they found tapeworm cysts in the bellies of two of the sheep. It was pretty disgusting, but being a path nerd, I was excited.
Tapeworm cyst...mmm
Thursday was a visit to another university farm, but this time it included just us, Dr. Balakrishnan and our friend Gowri. We got our hands a bit more dirty manhandling the cows on our own, without the help of the students. It was empowering to be able to collect blood without a chute; to watch the cows’ body language and restrain with our very own hands. Dangerous, yes, but good practice getting blood in a difficult situation.
Manhandling
Some differences that we observed between US and Indian ag over the last week:
-In pig raising, there are no farrowing crates. Pigs farrow on the ground and have an open pen to raise the piglets in. They raised Yorkshire pigs at the university farm we visited, but crossbred to Durocs and other hardy breeds for parasite resistance. Breeding is done through natural service. The pigs are allowed to wallow around in water troughs, but there is no dirt for rooting. Of course, this was a more modernized, university farm. Most pig farms are not modernized and the pigs are just allowed to roam freely around the farm, rooting and having babies wherever and living outside. These pigs at the university were being raised as breeding stock for farmers to start their own pig farms, so they were kept more confined.
Yorkshire in pink, crossbred in spots
Cooling off
-With ostrich farming, the animals are kept for meat, eggs and leather. They have two toes, and emus have three. They’re just like big chickens…they walk around and peck the ground and fan themselves with massive wings. Not much more to say on them…
Young ostriches
-Sheep and goats are numerous everywhere, and do quite well in the heat (except the wool breeds, which aren’t very common in India). Most of the sheep and goats I saw were in great shape, feeding on all of the shrubbery, weeds and grass around. They are often lead to an area to graze, and fed extra fodder for needed protein, etc. They kid and lamb year round since the weather is always warm. The kids may or may not be kept under little woven huts to protect them from predators at night. At the farm we visited, the gentleman vaccinated for entertoxemia (Clostridium perfringens type D), PPR? which is a disease like Rinderpest which isn’t in the US, and one other thing which is escaping my memory right now. They don’t vaccinate for Tetanus like in the US.
-Cattle are kept either in confinement, tied to something, or allowed to freely roam around the yard. They are often walked somewhere for grazing, and may or may not be given ad libitum water. They are hand milked and calves are allowed to stay on them until they reach a decent size. Many cattle are bred by A.I., even in the villages. Cattle are kept until they have calved about 6 times, and since the intercalving interval is about 2 years, this can mean about 12-14 years old (as compared to the 4-6 in America). They may be vaccinated for blackleg, Foot and Mouth or hemorrhagic septicemia, and they may or may not be dewormed. You can acquire cattle through private trade or a shanty (similar to an auction).
Hand milker and calf with a common goal...get milk
-Chickens in intensively raised farms are kept much the same way as American chickens; on grated floors in small cages where the eggs roll away from them into an egg collection trough. The farm we saw had a well lit and breezy barn with an assortment of laying hens in such cages. Bigger cages held roosters and other breeds. The chickens didn’t have much space, but they seemed generally happy and clean. In unorganized farms, chickens are just kept on the property and allowed to roam around, toting little lines of chicks behind them. Some common breeds include white leghorn, Rhode Island red, New Hampshire (represent!), Polish top and local Indian birds.
-Turkeys can be raised similarly to chickens (free range) or kept like broiler chickens in a big, open pen. The one turkey farm we visited raised about 200 poults at a time in a big, fenced in coop. The turkeys had a lot of space and were offered corn meal, water and vaccinated for Newcastle’s disease.
That’s all I can think of for now. Next week we’ll be introduced to fisheries and get some more experience in that area.
Back to the week’s events…
Thursday night was a fun break for all of us. Gowri took us on a shopping and movie trip at one of the modern malls. Unlike the ones we had been to, where you are harassed at every shop and pushed to buy everything in sight, in this mall the clerks were less pushy and were a lot more professional about it. It was definitely a high end place, with beautiful leather shops, book stores which sold an assortment of candy and chocolates (including Snickers in the designer chocolates area), jewelry, saree shops and duty free stuff.
We ate at a restaurant very much like Friday’s, with dinners called “sizzlers” that come out on super hot skillets. The restaurant was tucked in the back of the mall, was air conditioned and dressed modernly, so it felt like we were back in the US. We only remembered where we were when the power unexpectantly went out, and we all started laughing. During dinner Gowri told us the “proper way” to use the Indian toilets, which cleared up a lot of questions for us.
The movies were amazing. First off, the tickets (and these were 3D tix) were only $3 each. Just like the US, popcorn and soda equaled the price of a movie ticket, at 130 rupees (about $2.50).
The serving sizes were much, much smaller, but the popcorn was just as delicious. We got there a bit late since we were making some last minute purchases, and were thrilled to find that there were assigned seats!! We just waltzed right up the center aisle and found out preordered seats in the perfect viewing position.
Finally, a cure for my movie anxiety! In the US, I always feel the need to get to the movies at least 30 minutes early or more so that I get a decent seat. Here, it’s done for you! In some movie theaters, you can even request to sit in a “service section” and have people bring you food throughout the movie. Those tickets are a bit more, so we figured save that treat for Harry Potter. This time, we saw the Green Lantern, which I enjoyed a lot (maybe a little too much…it might have been because of shirtless Ryan Reynolds).The movie was in English, but also had English subtitles. I’m sure sometimes Indians have problems with our accents too. It was really interesting sitting through it…the Indians sometimes talk openly and cell phones will go off randomly. And when there’s a funny joke, you know it. The whole theater EXPLODES with laughter at the exact same jokes. Whereas we’d giggle at certain parts and catch little comic nuances, they’d practically jump out of their seats at some of the one liners. It also got a little awkward during make out scenes…all of a sudden there’d be a lot of shifting in seats and quiet chatter. The tension was palpable. Speaking of…they have “couple’s seats” with no arm rest in the middle. But the craziest thing about the movies was the intermission. Halfway through, the sound cut out and the movie stopped, and we thought we were dealing with another power outage. Wrrrong. All movies have intermissions! It lasted about 20 minutes and allowed for more consumerism. So strange, but I guess you’ve gotta make money somehow when movie tickets only cost $3.
Friday, it was back to sample collection and running tests. The next morning we would leave for Tiruchy, a city that is a bit West of Chennai and thus a bit hotter. We left early on Saturday and made it there within 6 hours. We were taken to a few farms, including a turkey and duck raising facility and a goat farm, and then to a market which was overlooked by a giant, hilltop temple.
The only way to reach this temple was to climb about 350 ancient, stone steps, painted red and white to help you from missing one. The steps were all different sizes and shapes, and you had to go barefoot (afterall, it is a holy temple). There were landings along the way where people sold little Ganesh statues and other things, and everyone stopped to catch their breath. After a while, we made it to the top and drank in the view. It was a beautiful, breezy temple, totally worth the hike.
View from the top
And that was Saturday.
Sunday began my sickness. Most of my time was spent lying in the back of the van, but the highlight of my entire day, maybe my entire trip, happened that day. When I began feeling bad at 6am, I decided not to risk passing out and just stayed in the A/C van even when everyone stopped to visit the 1,000 year temple. The temple is gigantic, with huge stone arches and stone structures all over the place. There are an assortment of statues and paintings and just tons of stuff to see. I didn’t want to miss it, but I felt like crap.
Luckily, Kayla, my savior through all of this, called me on the phone 15 minutes after they had left to tell me that there was an elephant outside the temple, and we could ride it. She figured that even if she was sick, she would attempt to get out of the van for that. She was right.
I followed the driver across the street to the temple and was met by the sight of my friends all congregated around a giant female elephant, swinging her trunk lazily and looking at us with intelligent eyes. I had been reading Water for Elephants (and just finished-such a good book…read it!!), and it was so strange to be standing in front of a real elephant, REALLY about to climb up it. I gave the man my 50 rupees (about $1.05) and approached. The elephant had a rough rope tied around her massive neck which I was to grab onto and start pulling myself up with. As soon as I lifted my foot, she raised her own and allowed me to stand on it, raising me up about 3 feet. Then, I continued to pull myself up the rope and walked up her rough, hairy side. Her skin had so much friction that I didn’t slide off, even though I was bare foot. Once up top, I settled in behind her head and stared around, smiling my head off. She posed, lifting and curling her trunk and opening her mouth in a “smile.” Then she fanned her ears, which hit the sides of my legs and made me laugh. After about two minutes of my friends snapping pictures and me grinning like a dope, I slid down and stood staring at her.
Nothing cures sickness like riding an elephant.
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