BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine was carved out of the conglomerate Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology and Public Health in 2004.

The Department is involved with the training and graduating of undergraduates (DVM) students in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and postgraduate students in the following discipline of the Veterinary Public Health, Epidemiology, Zoonoses, Biostatistics, Livestock Economics, Jurisprudence, Preventive Medicine, Food Hygiene/Food Safety, Environmental Health, and Computer Application in Veterinary Medicine.

The Departmkent carries our collaborative research and Community Services like Meat Inspection at abattoirs and slaughter houses within our catchment areas (Eastern zone). The Department undertakes mass vaccination programmes and has been involved in surveillance in major Epizoetics (Rinderpest, Trypanosomosis, Avian Influenza, Rabies) within the southeast zone of Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia States.

Faculties and Departments of the University of Nigeria, are striving to be recognized as Centers of Excellence in the various disciplines. The Departments in the Veterinary Faculty conscious of forty year of existence and recognition of the Faculty by the Veterinary Council as one of the Centers of Excellence in veterinary profession, it is important that we express our interest to host a Veterinary Public Health Specialty of the Veterinary College of Surgeons of Nigeria (CVSN). Three of our Departmental staff who are already Fellows of the College are lecturers in the Membership and Fellowship Programme of the College currently based solely at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.