KATHMANDU: A group of 20 veterinarians, who trekked to the Mt Everest Base Camp, shared knowledge on animal care in Kathmandu immediately after the team returned from the Khumbu region.

"The team led by Dr Michael Lappin from Colorado State University returned from the base camp spending 10 days in the Everest region," Jiban Ghimire, Managing Director at Shangri-La Nepal Treks, said. The team of International Veterinary Seminars was a part of the Bio Bio Expeditions, locally managed by Shangri-La Nepal Treks.

After returning from the base camp, Mike and team held a seminar with Nepali veterinarians to share their knowledge on animal medicine. "We are working with a number of groups to advance continuing education for veterinarians," Dr Lappin said.

According to him, the team loved to share its knowledge on veterinary medicine and enjoying the scenic beauty of Nepal's Himalayas. "It's the first ever veterinarians' group meeting in the Everest base camp," he said.

Dr Lappin, who studied feline infectious and immune-mediated diseases and has written many primary research manuscripts and book chapters, said that the team planned to do the Annapurna circuit trek in 2025.

"Pet care is an important part of human life and equally important for human mental health," the Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University, said. Mike along with his wife Cathy through the International Veterinary Seminars travelled around the world to help pass the information to make pets healthier. "Pets always make us healthier," Dr Lappin said.

Dr Lappin's principal areas of interest are prevention of infectious diseases, vaccine associated side effects, the upper respiratory disease complex, infectious causes of fever, infectious causes of diarrhea, and zoonoses of cats.

Dr Lappin, director at the Center for Companion Animal Studies in the US, shared that many people in America treat pets as their children. "Cathy and I have no children, but we have four dogs and four cats, they are part of our family," he quipped.

Sharing the objectives of a workshop with more than 25 Nepali vets, Dr Lappin said, their mission is to provide knowledge on veterinary medicine around the world. "Today, we have vets from America, Australia and Canada while Nepal is also a member of World Small Animal Veterinary Association," he said. According to him, they will continue sharing knowledge on animal medicine to Nepali vets through exchange visits in coming days.