American soldiers, Texas A&M help Iraqi veterinarians

Iraq

-- American soldiers are working with the Iraqi Department of Veterinary Medicine to help veterinarians diagnose and treat livestock in the southwestern provinces.

The Muthanna Provincial Reconstruction Team and soldieries in the 1st Calvary Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team set up a new livestock treatment center and a generator at the hospital, in addition to handing out more than 500 tons of barley and wheat seeds to local farmers. Other military units, along with Texas A&M University personnel, trained local veterinarians to use new methods for diagnosing and treating livestock like camels, sheep and cattle. Video-conferencing technology connected the teams and the Iraqi veterinarians with Texas A&M professors.

The effort resulted in the vaccination, deworming and dipping of 28,000 sheep and the treatment of more than 150 cattle over a period of three days. The military's medical detachment will continue to analyze animal blood and tissue samples drawn during that time to diagnose local livestock diseases.