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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 7TH JUNE, 2015
Campus News
Dental Clinic for Arima
For 21 years, The UWI
St. Augustine School of Dentistry,
part of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, has been serving the
community of Arima through The UWI Arima Dental Clinic
located at the Arima Health Facility. The old facility has now
been upgraded and The UWI formally unveiled the clinic on
April 27, 2015.
At the ceremony, UWI St. Augustine Pro Vice-Chancellor
andCampus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat acknowledged
the work done by the pioneers of the School of Dentistry and
credited them for paving the way to this state-of-the-art facility.
The new clinic, previously housed in two locations within the
Arima Health Facility, will operateMonday toWednesday from
8.30am to 2.30pm and on Thursday, from 8am to noon. It is
a walk-in adult clinic, providing services like extractions (by
appointment), cleanings, fillings and other planned surgical
procedures. All complex surgical cases, however, will still be
referred to the School of Dentistry at the EricWilliams Medical
Sciences Complex, Mt. Hope.
The Caribbean livestock industry
experiences losses to
the tune of US$62 million, as a result of parasites like ticks.
Parasites affect both humans and animals. Some parasites are
relatively harmless; others can produce pathological changes
which lead to severe health problems and even death says
Professor Asoke Basu of The UWI, St. Augustine Campus.
Professor Basu has made parasites his life’s work.
On May 21, he shared insights at his inaugural lecture
as Professor titled “A Journey with Parasites – Focusing
Concern, Control, and Eradication in Tropical Regions.”
Professor Basu currently heads the Department of
Basic Veterinary Sciences and is a Professor in Veterinary
Parasitology in the Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences
of the Faculty of Medical Sciences. He believes that nothing
short of a thorough knowledge of various aspects of parasites
is needed to combat them effectively. This knowledge,
he asserts, must include their epidemiology, biology,
bionomics, life cycle, and treatment.
The Professor revealed that globally, some of the more
deadly parasites include Onchocerca volvulus (a filarial
parasitic nematode) which causes river blindness among
people in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South
and Central America. It’s estimated that about 25 million
people are infected with river blindness worldwide; one
million of them become blind. Veterinarians, livestock
farmers, and persons who keep domestic pets will be
familiar with ticks. Professor Basu described these parasites
as fascinating because of their considerable medical and
veterinary importance. Ticks are essentially blood-sucking
obligatory ectoparasites (they live on the outside of their
hosts) of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. They
give rise to anaemia, decreased milk production, paralysis,
and irritation from bites. Globally, annual losses as a result
of ticks are estimated to be between US$ 13.9 billion and
US$ 18.7 billion. Professor Basu has spent time studying the
three species of ticks that do the most damage to Caribbean
livestock.
Born in India, Professor Basu joined The UWI in
2008 as a lecturer. During his time, he has been active in
community service and has helped to treat with parasites in
broiler chickens, sheep, goats, dogs, and swine.
Strengthening Nursing
On May 13, Pro Vice-Chancellor
and Campus Principal
of The UWI St. Augustine, Professor Clement Sankat was
joined by the Honourable Dr. Fuad Khan, Minister of
Health, Senator The Honourable Fazal Karim, Minister of
Tertiary Education and Skills Training, to formally launch
The UWI School of Nursing (UWISoN), located in the
Academy of Nursing and Allied Health in El Dorado.
UWISoNwas established tomeet the needs for specialist
nursing personnel including administrators and educators.
It is the only tertiary education institution in Trinidad
and Tobago that offers specialist training for nurses. The
school has been strategically positioned to develop nursing
and midwifery professionals with core competencies in
seven domains – Nursing Practice; Professional Conduct;
Health Promotion and Maintenance of Wellness; Nursing
Leadership and Management; Communication; Clinical
Decision Making and Intervention; and Professional
Development. The programme’s core focus, therefore, is the
development of competent practitioners.
Tick talk –
Professor Basu takes a journey with parasites
Three species of ticks inflict about $62 million in annual losses on the
Caribbean’s livestock industry. Of the three ticks, the Cayenne Tick is
the second most important.
Some of the eager new faces at the UWISoN.
Testing out the
spanking new
equipment is
Dr. Deandra
Rudolfo.
