Page 23 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 1

was not available, as an additional means of protecting the cattle industry against lamsiekte.
In 1931 a wool research division was established to study the characteristics of wool as well
as its production and processing. This
development was funded by a wool
levy paid by producers. Other highlights
included the identification of the warthog
as carrier of African swine fever by Steyn
in 1931, the confirmation of Clostridium
perfringens type B as the cause of lamb
dysentery (bloedpens) and preliminary
experiments towards the development of
a vaccine against it by Mason in 1935, and
the publication of the pioneering book
by Mönnig on veterinary parasitology in
1934. The latter would remain the standard
textbook in its discipline in the English-
speaking world for decades.
Perhaps the most spectacular innovation of the 1930s was the attenuation of African
ONDERSTEPOORT 100
horsesickness (AHS) virus by its passage through mouse brains by Alexander. He followed the example of Max Theiler, son of Arnold Theiler, who pioneered the application of the
technique in developing the neurotropic yellow fever vaccine in the USA which later earned him a Nobel Prize. The polyvalent neurotropic AHS vaccine that Alexander developed in 1936 was the first really effective vaccine against this economically important disease that had resisted all previous attempts at prevention by either the serum-infection method of Theiler or the subsequent formalized virus of du Toit and Alexander. In 1938 Alexander also adapted the attenuated virus to growth in chicken embryos. Research on bluetongue followed a different pathway. In 1938 a third strain of the virus was isolated but all attempts to find a susceptible laboratory animal for attenuation purposes failed. In the following year Mason, Coles and Alexander
“The first effective formol- toxoid vaccine against the disease now called botulism was developed in 1938 and became especially important during the World War II, when sufficient bone meal was not available, as an additional means of protecting the cattle industry against lamsiekte.”
Anotable social event marked the end of the decade: the festive inauguration of the Theiler monument by the Prime Minister, General Smuts on 15 November 1939. Theiler had
died unexpectedly in 1936 of a heart attack while in London for the second International Microbiology Congress where his son Max was to present his work on developing a yellow fever vaccine. Following a decision by farmer’s organizations to establish a fund for the erection of
a monument for Theiler, the government decided to take over the responsibility and to provide the funding for a monument at Onderstepoort to commemorate his services to the country.
A bronze sculpture, originally made in London for Theiler’s friend T. Schärrer by the celebrated
South African sculptor Coert Steynberg, was used as model for the monument, which was carved
by Steynberg in the Onderstepoort workshops from SA granite obtained from Midrand. It weighed 18 tons, cost £3000 and was mounted on a pedestal weighing 24 tons. In his inaugural speech General Smuts stressed that it was the first and only monument erected by government for a
civil servant, and he honoured Theiler for his ‘genius of insight’. The
auspicious event was attended by 500 invited guests, including four
cabinet ministers, eight diplomats and several heads of government
departments. The Treasury approved £50 for refreshments that
were served in the library hall because of ‘inclement weather’.
23
Growth and expansion (1927-1948)
1908-2008
Years