Urbanus von Backström, veterinarian, was the son of George von Backström and his wife Aletta Sophia, born Badenhorst. He qualified as a veterinarian (BVSc) in the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Pretoria at Onderstepoort in 1943 and in 1944 was appointed as Veterinary Officer by the government of the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana). He was stationed at Maun and was in charge of Ngamiland (North West District). Here, on the shores of Lake Ngami, he made the first diagnosis of lumpy skin disease in southern Africa (first called Ngami cattle disease). In 1947 he returned to South Africa and set up practice in Krugersdorp. He served as external examiner in veterinary medicine for the Veterinary Faculty at Onderstepoort for many years.

List of sources:

Family Search: George von Backstrom. Retrieved on 6 February 2023 from https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LKYP-DKL/george-von-backstrom-1888-1951

Posthumus, P.J. Past veterinarians in South Africa (10th edition), Vol. 2, [1992].

Von Backström, U. Ngamiland cattle disease. Preliminary report on a new disease, the etiological agent probably being of an infectious nature. Journal of the South African Veterinary Medical Association, 1945, Vol. 16, pp. 29-35.

Compiled by: D.W. Verwoerd

Last updated: 2023-02-06 11:44:56