COURSE STRUCTURE
There are ten lessons as follows:
1. Introduction to Animal Health
Describe common diseases affecting farm animals
The healthy animal
Causes of ill health
Preventing ill health
2. Signs & Symptoms of Diseases
Physical symptoms of diseases
Common methods of handling animals during health assessments
Recognising ill health
Restraining a horse
Sheep handling facilities
3. Disease Classification
Methods used in classifying animal diseases
Viral diseases
Bacterial diseases
Parasitic diseases
Protozoal diseases
Disease types in beef cattle
Diseases in sheep
4. Causes and Diagnosis of Disease
Causes of disease and the relevant methods of diagnosis
Examining cattle
Examining a horse
Ticks
Tick-borne diseases
Dagnosis of diseases
5. Treatment of Disease
Methods used in the treatment of diseases in farm animals
Vaccination
Animal first aid kit
Tetanus antiserum
Animal nursing
Quarantine
Slaughter
Post-mortem
Disease prevention in cattle
Disease prevention in sheep
Treatment of parasites in sheep
6. Inflammation
Outline the nature and causes of inflammation in farm animals
Inflammatory response
Causes of inflammation
Types of inflammation
Symptoms of inflammation
Inflammatory exudate
Treatment of inflammation
7. Fever and Immunity
The biological mechanisms underlying fever and the immune system in farm animals
The fever mechanism
Other temperature-related disorders
Effect of temperature on enzymes
Immunity
7. Tissue Repair
The biological mechanisms underlying tissue repair in farm animals
Healing of a clean incised wound
Healing of an open wound
Common horse ailments
8. Wounds
The biological mechanisms of wounds in farm animals and address different treatment methods for repair of common ailments
Types of wounds
First aid treatments
Bandaging horses
Emergencies
9. Cell changes
The causes and biological mechanisms of cell change in farm animals
Neoplasms, tumours, and cancers
The course of an infectious disease
Death
Cancers, and more
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
AIMS
- Describe common diseases affecting farm animals and the circumstances under which animals contract these diseases.
- Describe the physical symptoms of diseases in farm animals.
- Explain common methods of handling animals during health assessments
- Outline methods used in classifying animal diseases.
- Outline the causes of disease and explain the relevant methods of diagnosis.
- Outline methods used in the treatment of diseases in farm animals.
- Outline the nature and causes of inflammation in farm animals.
- Outline the biological mechanisms underlying fever and the immune system in farm animals.
- Outline the biological mechanisms underlying tissue repair in farm animals.
- Outline the biological mechanisms of wounds in farm animals and address different treatment methods for repair of common ailments.
- Outline the causes and biological mechanisms of cell change in farm animals.
WHAT THE COURSE COVERS
Here are just some of the things you will be doing:
- List criteria used to assess the health status, including ill-health, of animals.
- Describe the different causes of ill-health in animals.
- Explain the methods used to prevent ill-health in animals.
- Write a standard procedure for a routine health examination of a chosen farm animal.
- Describe the symptoms of ill-health in animals.
- Compare the causes of two symptomatically similar health problems for a specified farm animal.
- Diagnose a health problem from a given set of symptoms.
- Distinguish between different taxonomic classes of animal pest and disease organisms.
- Describe identifying characteristics of disease carrying agents of specified animals.
- Classify commonly occurring pests and diseases of three different animals, into their taxonomic classes.
- Describe the characteristics of viruses
- Describe the characteristics of bacteria.
- Describe the characteristics of protozoa.
- Describe the characteristics of parasites.
- Describe the characteristics of nutritional disorders.
- Analyse the relevance of factors, for determining the health of a chosen species.
- Describe the veterinary treatments available over the counter.
- Explain the vaccination programs.
- Describe the applications and techniques used for dips, to control external parasites.
- List the essential items for a First Aid Kit for an animal.
- Write guidelines for general procedures to follow when nursing sick animals.
- List the procedures employed in quarantine, using a chosen animal as an example.
- Describe the procedures for slaughtering a diseased ruminant in order to conduct a post-mortem examination.
- Prepare an illustrated, one page report on the post-mortem procedures of a ruminant.
- Compare different methods used to control a specified disease in animals.
- Identify a suitable method of control for ten different, specified pests and diseases.
- Differentiate between factors which cause inflammation in animals.
- Develop a check-list for analysing inflammation.
- Explain the inflammatory response.
- Compare the different methods used to control inflammation in animals.
- Describe the function of the immune system in animals.
- List the agents which can cause fevers in animals.
- Explain the biology of fevers in a specified case study of an animal species.
- Explain the methods used in treating fevers in animals.
- Explain at least five factors which influence immune response in animals.
- Explain the characteristics of the immune system in a chosen animal species.
- Describe the composition of tissues at different body sites, in terms of susceptibility to different types of internal and external damage.
- Compare the characteristics of different types of tissue damage.
- List factors, in terms of both rate of, and quality of repair; which influence tissue repair.
- Explain the biological processes, which occur as damaged tissue heals in animals.
- Compare the different effects of wounding, including psychological, physiological and anatomical, to different parts of a specified animals body.
- Explain the different biological processes which occur following wounding, including: tissue repair and infection.
- Develop a check-list for the treatment of wounds in animals.
- List an appropriate treatment for different types of wounds to different species of animals.
- Describe post care treatment of the wounds as discussed above.
- Determine the potential causes of wounding of animals.
- Develop guidelines for prevention of wounds to animals, based on the potential causes identified above.
- Describe the different causes of cellular change in animals.
- Explain the general processes associated with cancer at a cellular level, in animals.
- Explain the cellular processes associated with death of animal tissue.
- List factors which influence the rate and extent of cellular change in diseased animals.
- Monitor the health condition of an animal over a four month period.
- Observe, and prepare a report, on the veterinarian's diagnostic process/ health assessment methodology, when inspecting different animals.
- Diagnose the cause of different health problems, detected in three different genera of animals.
- Develop a check-list of the diagnostic indicators of common health problems, which occur in different animal species.
Animals Get Sick Just as much as People
Animals can be just as susceptible to illness as any person. The illnesses that people suffer are not always a matter of life and death. They are sometimes prolonged and severe, and at other times, short lived and not very serious. We often don't notice minor illnesses with animals, because the animal can't tell us they are having an "off day", "headache, or "upset stomach; in the same way that a colleague or family member might tell us. This doesn't mean the problem is any less real though.
Small issues that go unnoticed and untreated, can develop into more serious issues though; so learning to notice the small things and deal with them can be an important part of avoiding the big issues; which can become quite costly for a farmer or pet owner, as well as stressful for the animal.
Consider a stomach infection for instance. Gastroenteritis can affect animals just as much as it can affect people. "Gastro" is an acute inflammation of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines, which can be caused by a range of problems.
The animal may have eaten (or scavenged) food contaminated with bacteria or virus’. Internal parasitic overload, ingestion of poisons or foreign bodies, and other metabolic or systemic diseases may also be the underlying cause. The problem may be mild and resolve itself within a short period of time or may be severe and life threatening, depending on the cause.
Any animal can be affected.
Vomiting and diarrhoea are the major symptoms but they may vary greatly depending on the cause. Dehydration is often seen as well. Fever may be present and the animal may have a decreased or increased appetite. Traces of blood may be present in the animal’s vomit or diarrhoea.
Traditional treatment varies depending on cause and severity of the animal’s condition. Food and water should be removed until the animal has stopped vomiting and then only water reintroduced gradually. A bland diet should then be slowly reintroduced. In severe cases intravenous fluids may be given to combat dehydration as well as drugs to reduce vomiting and diarrhoea. Antibiotics may be administered if appropriate. Subsequent administration of pre- and pro-biotics may help in the animal’s recovery and prevent further incidence of the condition
How the Course can Benefit You
Learning more about Animal Health can only improve your ability and confidence to work with animals. The knowledge you will gain from studying this course is truly an asset for you to apply to animals in your care.
If you are interested in further study, this foundation course will set you on a path to continue learning. This course is also one of the modules of the Animal Husbandry Certificate.
The course is suitable for different people including:
- Farmers
- Farm hands
- Animal breeders
- Small holders
- Hobby farmers
- Anyone interested in keeping animals for productivity
Enrol to develop skills in the health side of animal husbandry.