Page 12 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 1

OND
ERSTEPOORT 100
Theiler and staff at Onderstepoort in 1918. Notable, in the 2nd row are f.l.t.r.: E.M. Robinson (2nd), J.Walker (3rd), Sir A.Theiler K.C.M.G. (4th), H.H. Green (5th), D. Kehoe (6th) and G. de Kock (7th)
at Armoedsvlakte resumed, and since World War I had ended on 11 November 1918, Theiler attempted to address the serious staff shortage by recruitment from his alma mater in Switzerland. Vacancies existed for an
of the toxic material. A seasonal variation of the phosphate deficiency in the pastures was probably responsible for the contradictory observations. By deducing the logical sequence
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assistant director and seven researchers at Onderstepoort and two research officers at Armoedsvlakte. Eventually five candidates accepted the invitation but they would only arrive later in 1919.
of events within weeks of his arrival Theiler could also propose possible solutions in terms of breaking the cycle: feeding bone meal or phosphate supplements to prevent pica and the removal of carcass material from pastures.
He immediately told Montgomery of the breakthrough and 4 days later the latter departed by train to Cape Town where he informed the Minister of Agriculture. On 19 March 1919 the Minister made the dramatic announcement in the House of Assembly that the lamsiekte problem had been solved. The identity of the ‘poison’, i.e. botulinum toxin produced by contaminating bacteria, was only discovered much later in 1930 by Robinson.
With Theiler still occupied at Armoeds- vlakte with the planning of new facilities and further experiments, significant de- velopments took place on the national level.
On 24 February 1919 Theiler arrived at
Armoedsvlakte where Viljoen had recently
been successful in producing lamsiekte
experimentally in cattle by feeding them
old bones, confirming observations made
by various farmers. However, Viljoen had
not observed osteophagia (bone craving)
at Armoedsvlakte and therefore did not
accept its role in causing the disease. When
Theiler arrived and spent time observing
the cattle grazing in the veld, he made
the exact opposite observation, namely
an abnormal craving for rotten bones.
He immediately set up experiments which
proved conclusively that the carcass mate-
rial contained the ‘poison’ that causes the disease and also made the deduction that a phosphate deficiency in the vegetation causes the bone craving responsible for the intake
The serious decline in activities both at Onderstepoort and in the Department of Agriculture as a result of the shortage of staff led to pressure in the House of Assembly on the Minister
“On 19 March 1919 the Minister made the dramatic announcement in the House of Assembly that the lamsiekte problem had been solved. The identity of the ‘poison’, i.e. botulinum toxin produced by contaminating bacteria, was only discovered much later in 1930 by Robinson.”
PART 1
Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute: General History
1908-2008
Years