Roberts L C, van Helden L S, Fox C A, Fiff F, Visser D J
Rev Sci Tech. 2020 Aug;39(2):407-415. doi: 10.20506/rst.39.2.3092.
In 2018, Cape Town, South Africa, nearly ran out of water. That this has not yet happened is in large part due to the water-saving efforts of its citizens. It is highly likely that this situation will be repeated in Cape Town and that similar situations will be experienced by major cities in other parts of the world. Efforts to save water should thus continue and the lessons learned in Cape Town should be shared. The functioning of Veterinary Services during a drought is affected in the same way as any business, in terms of running an office, but veterinary professionals face an increased risk of exposure to pathogens, compared to that of many occupations, and of veterinary officials becoming disease vectors. One component of Veterinary Services is veterinary laboratory services. Laboratory procedures rely heavily on water and, without advance planning, a laboratory's function can be severely limited by a restricted water supply. In many cases, innovative water-saving techniques can be used to reduce water use substantially without compromising the quality of the services offered. Here, the authors share their experiences and some lessons learned while working in Veterinary Services in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
2018年，南非开普敦几乎耗尽水源。这种情况尚未发生，很大程度上归功于市民的节水努力。开普敦极有可能再度面临这种情况，世界其他地区的主要城市也可能会经历类似情形。因此，节水行动应持续开展，开普敦的经验教训也应予以分享。干旱期间兽医服务的运作与任何企业一样，在办公方面会受到影响，但与许多职业相比，兽医专业人员接触病原体的风险更高，而且兽医官员成为疾病传播媒介的风险也更高。兽医服务的一个组成部分是兽医实验室服务。实验室程序严重依赖水，如果没有预先规划，实验室的功能可能会因供水受限而受到严重限制。在许多情况下，可以采用创新的节水技术，在不影响所提供服务质量的前提下大幅减少用水量。在此，作者分享他们在南非西开普省从事兽医服务工作时的经验和一些心得。
