Infectious diseases are one of the most important and challenging parts of veterinary internal medicine. From viral and bacterial infections to fungal and vector borne diseases, these cases require proper diagnostics, interpretation, isolation protocols, and long term management.
What makes infectious disease medicine challenging is that many conditions can initially look similar: fever, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, and respiratory signs, yet the underlying causes may be completely different. It taught me the importance of clinical reasoning, diagnostic testing, and not relying solely on assumptions.
This field also made me appreciate how interconnected medicine, public health, and prevention truly are. Vaccination, sanitation, parasite control, client education, and early detection all play major roles in protecting both animals and people.
As I entered this course, I realized infectious disease medicine is not just about identifying pathogens. It is about understanding transmission, recognizing patterns, and learning how to respond quickly and responsibly in situations where time can greatly affect outcomes.
I was honestly very hesitant to go to China alone at first, especially knowing I would definitely struggle there. One of my biggest worries was fixing my internet access because Facebook, Instagram, and Viber are my main ways of communicating for work. I was scared of losing access to everything while being in another country alone.
But anyway, I still took the risk because I really wanted to fulfill this “infectious disease” experience. I’ve been working on infectious disease cases for quite some time already, especially in projects where I constantly discuss these conditions with clients. I wanted to become more confident and knowledgeable in what I do.
The course itself was very interesting, although I honestly had a little bit of difficulty waiting for the translations since my mind tends to wander because of my short attention span. But in a way, it also helped me slow down, browse through the materials more carefully, and regurgitate the information little by little instead of rushing everything.
Being the only non Chinese person in the room felt intimidating at first. I only had one other classmate from Indonesia. But I think that also became one of the best parts of the experience because the class was small enough for us to have real conversations. I had the chance to talk to my professors personally, show them my work, and receive very uplifting words that genuinely motivated me to keep going even when everything feels hard and pressuring.
This kind of traveling makes me proud of myself. It reminds me that I can go anywhere, even when I know it’s going to be scary.
