Page 32 - VHSA - Onderstepoort 100 Years - Part 1

ONDERSTEPOORT 100
of Agriculture established a series of specialist institutes all over the country, incorporating the lecturing staff at the universities and agricultural colleges into its own structure.
In a similar way the De- partment of Mines estab- lished the Geological Survey and the Fuel Research Insti- tute. Research was therefore very much a state-sponsored activity with little private sector support.
World War II changed the
situation completely. Within
a short period South Africa had to find substitutes for previously imported products and to produce a variety of items for military use, ranging from food to spare parts and armaments. In short, the country experienced an industrial revolution with the concomitant need to diversify and in- crease its research effort. After the War the need to exploit and further develop the acquired expertise led to the establish- ment in 1945 of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Under the dynamic leadership of Basil Schonland, and the assistance of eminent scientists, including P.J. du Toit from Onderstepoort, a three-
pronged strategy was developed and
successfully implemented. It consisted of
the establishment of own laboratories for
novel research, formalized support for
university research and the encouragement
32 of the private sector to either carry out or support research.
The success achieved by the CSIR is
illustrated by the fact that by 1950 it had
established five National Laboratories and
increased its budget ten-fold. It also reflects
the priority status it enjoyed in terms of
government funding. The question whether
agricultural and medical research should
be included in the mandate of the CSIR
was hotly debated. Eventually medical research was included, only to be separated in 1969 under an independent Medical Research Council.
A separate Agricultural Research Council had been fore- seen by Schonland in 1945 and was proposed by Mönnig in a memorandum to the Minister of Agriculture in 1950, but was only achieved in 1992. In hindsight the insistence of the Department of Agriculture to retain its research activi- ties impacted negatively on the situation at Onderstepoort in terms of financial and other resources, the ability to attract and retain top scientists and, generally, its status in the scientific community.
In an attempt to address the difficulty facing the De-
partment in attracting scientific staff in competition with the CSIR, it initiated a bursary programme for postgraduate studies that enabled a number of researchers to obtain specialized training locally or abroad. At Onderstepoort it included T.W. Naudé and D.W. Verwoerd, respectively a future Deputy Director (later Professor of Toxicology at the Faculty of Veterinary Science) and Director of the Institute. In addition, a small group of young German scientists
was appointed to stimulate novel research. The initial group consisted of H. Weyland, a microbiologist; H.W. Radmacher, chemical expert on trace elements; H. Kleeberg, a specialist on tuberculosis and D.R. Osterhoff who was recruited to establish an animal blood group laboratory in South Africa and later became Professor in Zootechnology at the Faculty of Veterinary Science. W.H. Giesecke, a future Assistant Director of Food Hygiene followed a few years later. All five made significant contributions to the research programme of the Institute.
The Virology Building, erected in the early 1950s, provided the facilities for advanced research on viruses
“Severe outbreaks of bluetongue in sheep led to a sudden increase in the demand for vaccine from 2,5 million doses during the previous year to 6 million, exceeding the capacity of the production facilities.”
In addition to these administrative con- cerns, Alexander was confronted in 1950 by serious animal health problems following exceptionally heavy rains during the summer. Severe outbreaks of bluetongue in sheep led to a sudden increase in the demand for vaccine from 2,5 million doses during the previous year to 6 million, exceeding the capacity of the production facilities. The problem was aggravated by a shortage of eggs, used for the production of the vaccine, as well as a low 40% fertility of the eggs and a short shelf life of the vaccine. Alexander found a solution for the latter in adopting the newly developed freeze- drying technology. He visited the United
Kingdom to investigate the possibilities and to order the necessary equipment. In 1953 the Edwards freeze dryers, which were to serve the institute for decades, arrived and by 1956 the production of all viral vaccines had been adapted to lyophilization. A final solution for the egg problem was only found in the early 1960s, when progress in tissue culture techniques enabled the cultivation of the virus to be switched from embryonated eggs to cell cultures.
At the same time, i.e. in 1950, a large-scale outbreak of pulpy kidney disease (enterotoxaemia) in sheep, which had only been identified in South Africa in 1948, occurred. The de- mand for vaccine again far exceeded the production capacity of 1.8 million doses leading to agitation by farmers, questions
PART 1
Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute: General History
1908-2008
Years