Page 43 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 1

ONDERSTEPOORT 100 Diversification and change (1980-1998)
Foot and Mouth Disease Laboratory inaugurated and financial autonomy for the vaccine factory
RD. (Rudolph) Bigalke qualified cum laude as veterinarian at the Onderstepoort Faculty in 1953. Immediately after qualifying he joined the well-known private veterinary practice of Boswell, Brown and Hempstead in Johannesburg where he worked as an assistant until 1956.
He then joined the government service at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute where he was appointed as researcher in the Protozoology section led by Neitz. Alexander was then Director of Veterinary Services and Graf the Deputy Director of Veterinary Services (Research).
In 1963/64 Bigalke went to London University, with the aid of a bursary of the Board for the Control of Meat and Meat Industries, where he obtained the Diploma in Applied Parasitology and Entomology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (with a mark of distinction). In 1969 he was awarded a DVSc degree by the Onderstepoort Faculty of the University of Pretoria on the strength of a thesis on the epidemiology of bovine besnoitiosis.
As mentioned above, at the time it was
still customary for researchers in certain
disciplines also to be involved in teaching
at the Onderstepoort Faculty on a part-
time basis and Bigalke served as part-time
lecturer and senior lecturer in Protozoology
and Protozoan Diseases from 1963-1972.
He became head of the Protozoology
Section at the Veterinary Research Institute,
Onderstepoort in 1971, when Neitz reached
pensionable age, and was promoted to
Deputy Director of the Institute – one of
two such posts at the time – in 1974 when
de Lange retired. In 1980 he was appointed
as the new Director of the Institute when
Weiss went on pension. His deputy directors
were Naudé (from 1976) and C.J. (Charles) Howell (from 1980). C.M. (Colin) Cameron was appointed Deputy Director in 1982.
At that stage the main functions of the Institute were veterinary research, diagnostic work and vaccine production.
The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Laboratory, which was officially opened in 1980, was situated two kilometres from the main campus on the Institute’s farm, Kaalplaas.
Pini, whose post was soon upgraded to that of a deputy director, was in charge of that Laboratory. The Institute there- fore now had three deputy directors. The Vaccine Factory of the Institute, which had been headed by van Rooyen in Weiss’ time, was now led by F.J. (Floors) Visser. As pointed out above, Weiss had been very much involved in the management of the Vaccine Factory during the latter part
of his career and the head of the Factory reported directly to him.
The very day that Bigalke walked into the director’s office to take on his new respon- sibilities as Director of the Institute, a report came through from South West Africa/ Namibia (now Namibia) that cattle that had been vaccinated with Onderstepoort’s anthrax vaccine had died from blackquarter. This was soon followed by similar reports from South Africa itself. It transpired that a batch of anthrax vaccine was contaminated with Clostridium septicum, one of the rare causes of blackquarter.
This episode, perhaps more than any other, made Bigalke realize that the Vaccine Factory was not only one of the Institute’s greatest assets but could also be its Achilles heel and therefore required more direct pro- fessional supervision. Cameron was given the responsibility of supervising the Factory. Bigalke, who believed in managing by walk- ing around, kept his eye on the vaccine fac- tory as well as on all the other activities at Onderstepoort.
Bigalke, who was the first member of the top management of the Institute to formally use the name ‘vaccine factory’ for the vaccine-manufacturing component of the Institute, made a second drastic change to its management. This involved its inadequate financing, as described in detail in Part 3: Vaccine Production (OBP). As a result of representations to head office (of the Department of Agricultural Technical
Services) the Vaccine Factory was placed on a ‘trade account’, which meant that it would have to earn its own keep. The trade account was implemented on 1 April 1981, the prices of vaccines were increased to accommodate the budget and matters soon started to improve dramatically.
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Bigalke initiated the introduction of a “trade account” for the vaccine factory which meant that it would have to earn its own keep − the prices of vaccines were increased to accommodate the budget and matters soon started to improve dramatically.”
Diversification and change (1980-1998)
1908-2008
Years