Page 108 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 3

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ERSTEPOORT 100
until 1965 when he took charge of the Poultry Section) who specialized in serological techniques and performed research on poultry viruses; B. (Barney) van der Westhuizen (1962 until 1966 when he joined a pharmaceutical company) who did pioneering work on bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) and A. (Athanasios) Theodoridis (1968 until 1985 when he returned to Greece). Theodoridis continued work on BEF and produced the first effective vaccine. He also produced an inactivated vaccine to combat chlamydiosis in sheep
and in later years he worked on viruses involved in bovine infertility.
During the 1970s the following re-
searchers joined the Virology Section: B.J.H.
Barnard (1972-1998) who, during his long
and fruitful career, worked on RVF (and
produced an inactivated vaccine), lumpy
skin disease (LSD), rabies and malignant
catarrhal fever (MCF); A. (Attilio) Pini
(1972 until 1980 when he was transferred
to take charge of the Foot and Mouth
Disease Laboratory) who worked on the
pathogenesis of BT and on African swine fever (ASF) and G.R. (Gavin) Thomson who was appointed in 1978 and also transferred to the FMD Laboratory 2 years later. Thomson worked on swine viruses, particularly those responsible for reproductive failure.
Appointments after 1980 included Gerdes (1983 to date) who is an excellent diagnostician of international repute and has isolated a wide range of viruses. For years she has been the cornerstone of the Virology Section and although she officially retired at the end of 2004 was re-appointed on a contract basis. R. (Roy) Williams (1985 to date) specialized in serological tests and the development of diagnostic kits and geographic information systems as applied to various diseases.
Janusz Paweska (1991 until end of 2001 when he was appointed to the staff of the South African Institute for Communicable Diseases where he is responsible for work on haemorrhagic fevers) did a great deal of work on equine viral arteritis in donkeys, on AHS, BT and LSD.
This chapter would not be complete without reference to the major contribu- tion of veterinary technicians (technolo- gists) to virology at Onderstepoort. It is not the intention to list all the names of the technical staff employed over the past
century but merely to refer to those who worked in Virology for a reasonable time and more particularly those who were involved in major breakthroughs.
The first name that comes to mind is S.M. (Rita) Geyer, truly the ‘grand dame’ of veterinary virology. She is a most
“This chapter would not be complete without reference to the major contribution of veterinary technicians (technologists) to virology at Onderstepoort.”
198
S.M. Geyer with K.E. Weiss in the virology laboratory
PART 3
History of Individual Disciplines
1908-2008
Years