Contributions of Veterinary Medicine for a Full Health Care: From Activism on Health Surveillance to the Prospects of Workforce Into Primary Care in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS)

The discussion about the role of the veterinarian in public health has been one of the main guidelines in the professional discussions in Brazil since 2005, the year of the foundation of the Brazilian Association of Veterinary Public Health (ABSPV). The Brazilian society still unknow of the extent of the veterinarian's role in public health. In Brazil, the veterinarian has a large field of practice in public health, which includes several works such as research in universities/institutions, health surveillance (epidemiological, environmental, sanitary), primary care, technology  and hygienic-sanitary inspection of animal products (exclusive competence), planning and management in health, animal disease control, health education, sanitary animal defense, food safety, prevention and health promotion, among others. Recently, we were integrated into the Support Center for Family Health (NASF), considering its profile of action on public health, that many diseases and disorders of importance are included in their professional scope, particularly evidenced in interfaces with the family health. The actions to be performed by the veterinarians in NASF's should be related to prevention and control of diseases, such as actions to promote preventive practices related to the main health problems of the community, with particular attention to zoonoses, foodborne and vector-borne diseases in order to minimize the occurrence of these kind of problems, conducting surveillance and control of these. Besides, to identify geographical areas and social segments an groups of population with higher risk to injuries, respecting the ethnical, racial and cultural population diversity; to realize health education activities, aiming the community awareness, developed in an interdisciplinary way with others NASF’s professionals. Thus, we believe that the participation of the veterinarian becomes of fundamental importance for the realization of full health care, particularly in primary care, considering the presented reasons and the current trends of their articulation with the health surveillance in Brazil.