VN March 2023

Vetnuus | Maart 2023 48 I was given three books, including The Farmers Annual and South African Farm Doctor, as a Christmas present. These books were printed in 1913 and have some extremely interesting stories of veterinary science in those very early years. The Rinderpest and the Burnt Earth Policy adopted by the British during the Boer war had laid the resilient Afrikaner farmer very low. It created a huge Poor White problem due to many of these poor people having no option but to migrate to the "cities" to look for employment; in many instances, unsuccessfully. And then came the East Coast Fever. Horse sickness had caused havoc during the Boer War, with many imported from as far off as South America dying within a few months of arrival in South Africa. The veterinary icon Dr Arnold Theiler had offered a price for anyone who could successfully treat a case of horse sickness. He had been inundated with Boer Raad in this regard. None proved to be successful. And as of now, the same situation is prevalent in the horse population, all 125 years later. East Coast Fever first arrived on Natal in 1906. It had moved down from the Komati Poort area into Natal via loot cattle from the Bambata rebellion. Ticks in Natal assisted greatly in the spread until, as stated, "they had not taken into consideration that at Nels Rust a deep thinking and far-seeing farmer Joseph Baynes had built the first dip tank. Mr Watkins Pitchford, a vet, was plodding away in his laboratory preparing a surprise packet for his pestilential parasite. The remedy was the well-known Queensland Formula – a concoction of arsenic, tar and soda.! Then comes a story on the dips used: "My farm was very grossly infested with ticks of every species. Prior to dipping, the ticks were so terrible that blood poured from the animal's ears and other parts. They so eat away the flesh at the roots of the horns that abscesses formed penetrate the brain and kill the animals. Dipping every 14 days reduced the pest considerably. First, the blue ticks, the brown, the tortoiseshell, and the red- legged beggar. ………I have tried everything: Stockholm tar and butcher fat, brick oil, fat, paraffin and tar, double strength dip, and Pitchford's homely remedy, wax-candle and paraffin, which I found to be excellent. And so it goes on. The East Coast Fever is well documented in my family history. My paternal grandfather farmed at the beautiful port-side village of Port Saint Johns. He was part of a trading family, and farming was not his forte, so he decided to buy a trading store in the mThasi valley just southeast of Mount Frere. This was about a week's trek by ox wagon from Port Saint Johns. Grandfather set off on his own to get going with his venture leaving my pregnant grandmother and three little children in Port Saint Johns. She and the kids were to follow later. At this stage, my father was all of 7 years old and a fluent Xhosa speaker. Granny loaded the wagons and eventually set off with a few trusted servants. Things did not go well. The oxen, one by one, contracted East Coast Fever and died. To carry on, my father was sent to the nearest kraal to negotiate the borrowing of a trained ox. This ox would work for a day and then be brought back to its owner. And so the leapfrogging persisted, and the wagons slowly progressed until a message reached them to stop the convoy because of unrest in the Mount Frere area. Then, my grandmother went into labour and delivered my aunt to make matters even worse. Eventually, they made it to mThasi, all hail and hearty. And my aunt spent the next 93 years in her beloved Transkei. How many of us would manage that today – they were surely a tough bunch. And the challenges the vets of old went through make our lives pretty mundane. v Life plus 23 without parole Mike Lowry Mike Lowry has been in veterinary practice for "life plus 23" years. In this column, he shares his experiences and opinions . Regulars I Life plus 23 + 23 24-Hour, Toll-Free Helpline: 0800 21 21 21