Page 3 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 3

Edington’s Cape Bacteriology Institute in Grahamstown in 1892 and later by Theiler at Daspoort. Lungsickness was eradicated from South Africa by 1924 but persisted in Namibia and Angola. Retaining a stockpile of an effective vaccine at Onderstepoort therefore remained crucial for the control of the disease for many years. The Bacteriology Section of the Institute remained intimate- ly involved throughout the years in the development of vaccines as well as in their production, which is discussed in detail in Part 3: Vaccine Production and OBP. In this chapter the emphasis is therefore on its research and development activities.
Lamsiekte (botulism) in cattle was
probably the first disease caused by a
bacterium to be observed in South Africa
by Francois la Vaillant, who travelled in
the Cape of Good Hope from 1781 to 1784, and by H.C. Lichtenstein, a medical doctor, at about the same time. The first scientific investigation of the disease
ONDERSTEPOORT 100
from France, became unavailable due to the outbreak of World War I. Apparently there was little to choose between the imported and locally produced product and in both cases the results continued to be rather unsatisfactory. Frequently the vaccine failed to immunize, while at other times it caused severe reactions. It became clear that a more reliable product was urgently needed. In 1919 R.W. Dixon stated in his annual report: ‘Anthrax is the most serious disease we have to contend with, and is responsible for more losses among farm stock than the total losses from all other contagious diseases’. In 1923, at the height of the disease in South Africa, it was estimated that between 30 000 and 60 000 animals died of anthrax. In 1920 G.G. Kind, a Swiss veterinarian recruited
by Theiler, started producing the first anthrax spore vaccine according to a method developed by Cienkowsky in Russia many years before, but it was also found to be unsafe. Research continued and a much improved spore vaccine was eventually developed by Viljoen, H.H. Curson and P.J.J. Fourie in 1928, using weaker attenuated strains of Bacillus anthracis and a smaller number of spores. This vaccine proved to be a vast improvement on anything used before and was extensively used until 1937, dramatically reducing the incidence of the disease. However, it was still not safe for
all species and separate vaccines had to be 93 prepared for different species of domestic animals.
When the Faculty of Veterinary Science was established in 1920, Viljoen was appointed as Professor in Medicine, and was also responsible for lectures in ‘special
was carried out by Duncan Hutcheon shortly
after his appointment as veterinarian by the
Cape Colonial Government in 1880. He
associated the disease with pica (a craving
to eat substances other than normal food,
including carcass material) and concluded
that it could be partially prevented by
feeding cattle crushed bones. Soon after
it was founded, Onderstepoort became
involved in lamsiekte research when Walker,
in collaboration with D. Mitchell, proved
in 1913 that the disease could be induced
in cattle by feeding them old bones and
carcass material. In 1918 P.R. Viljoen, the
second South African to qualify as a veterinarian, confirmed this observation at Armoedsvlakte in the Vryburg district but could not explain why cattle exhibited pica. It was Theiler who eventually combined the various observations into a logical sequence of events which led to the successful control of the disease. Theiler was posted to Armoedsvlakte in 1919 and managed to prove that a phosphate deficiency causes the pica which leads to the consumption of bone material which in turn causes lamsiekte and that the problem could be solved by feeding bone meal to cattle in affected areas. The involvement of a bacterial toxin was only discovered much later. The lamsiekte saga with all its political ramifications is discussed in more detail in Part 1.
In 1914 Onderstepoort started producing anthrax vaccine, using the method developed by Pasteur. Anthrax was prob- ably first observed in southern Africa by David Livingstone during his travels in 1850 and identified by W.C. Branford in the Cape in 1880. In 1882 Hutcheon adopted the use of the Pasteur vaccine. This vaccine, previously imported
“Anthrax was probably first observed in southern Africa by David Livingstone during his travels in 1850 and identified by W.C. Branford in the Cape in 1880.”
Sterilizing Room (bacteriology) in the Old Main Building 1908
Bacteriology
1908-2008
Years