Walter Plowright CMG FRS FRCVS (20 July 1923 in

Holbeach Holbeach is a market town and civil parish in the South Holland District in Lincolnshire, England. The town lies from Spalding; from Boston; from King's Lynn; from Peterborough; and by road from Lincoln. It is on the junction of the ...

, Lincolnshire – 19 February 2010 in London) was an English

veterinary scientist Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

who devoted his career to the eradication of the cattle plague

rinderpest Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wildebeests, and warthogs ...

. Plowright received the 1999

World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nor ...

for his development of tissue culture rinderpest vaccine (TCRV), the key element in the quest to eliminate rinderpest. Rinderpest became the first animal disease to be eliminated worldwide. He was the second son of Jonathan and Mahala Plowright. He attended

Moulton Grammar School Spalding Grammar School (SGS), fully known as The Queen Elizabeth Royal Free Grammar School Spalding, is a boys' grammar school in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. History The school was founded in 1588 by royal charter, applied for by a R ...

which transferred to

Spalding Grammar School Spalding Grammar School (SGS), fully known as The Queen Elizabeth Royal Free Grammar School Spalding, is a boys' grammar school in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. History The school was founded in 1588 by royal charter, applied for by a R ...

in 1939. He graduated from the

Royal Veterinary College , mottoeng = Confront disease at onset , established = (became a constituent part of University of London in 1949) , endowment = £10.5 million (2021) , budget = £106.0 million (20 ...

in London in 1944 and was commissioned into the

Royal Army Veterinary Corps The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and ca ...

. As a young veterinary pathologist, Plowright carried out research in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The East African Veterinary Research Organization at Muguga in Kenya provided the base for Plowright and his colleagues to adopt the cell-culture techniques used to develop the

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

vaccine to produce a live attenuated (non-pathogenic) virus for use as a rinderpest vaccine. Plowright used a mono-layer of kidney cells to culture the virus until it became non-virulent and could be transmitted from one cattle to another, producing lifelong immunity against rinderpest. Unlike its predecessors, tissue culture rinderpest vaccine (TCRV) could be used safely in all types of cattle, it could be produced very economically and conferred lifelong immunity. The research and application techniques that brought Plowright success in fighting rinderpest were later replicated by his colleagues to vaccinate against

sheeppox Sheeppox (or sheep pox, known as in Latin, in French, in German) is a highly contagious disease of sheep caused by a poxvirus different from the benign orf (or contagious ecthyma). This virus is in the family ''Poxviridae'' and genus '' Cap ...

and

lumpy skin disease Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an infectious disease in cattle caused by a virus of the family ''Poxviridae'', also known as Neethling virus. The disease is characterized by large fever, enlarged superficial lymph nodes and multiple nodules (measuri ...

. In 1964, Plowright returned to the United Kingdom to oversee animal disease research there until his 1983 retirement. He chaired the

’s

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

and

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...

department from 1971 to 1978. He was Head of Microbiology at the Institute for Animal Health in

Compton, Berkshire Compton is a village and civil parish in the River Pang valley in the Berkshire Downs about south of Didcot which is buffered from neighbouring settlements by cultivated fields to all sides. The village is in a gently-sloped dry valley and the ...

from 1978 to 1983. In addition to rinderpest, Plowright also contributed to the study of such viral animal diseases as

African swine fever ''African swine fever virus'' (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the '' Asfarviridae'' family. It is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; ...

malignant catarrhal fever Bovine malignant catarrhal fever (BMCF) is a fatal lymphoproliferative disease caused by a group of ruminant gamma herpes viruses including ''Alcelaphine gammaherpesvirus 1'' (AlHV-1) and ''Ovine gammaherpesvirus 2'' (OvHV-2) These viruses cause ...

poxvirus ''Poxviridae'' is a family of double-stranded DNA viruses. Vertebrates and arthropods serve as natural hosts. There are currently 83 species in this family, divided among 22 genera, which are divided into two subfamilies. Diseases associated wit ...

es, and

herpesvirus ''Herpesviridae'' is a large family of DNA viruses that cause infections and certain diseases in animals, including humans. The members of this family are also known as herpesviruses. The family name is derived from the Greek word ''ἕρπειν ...

es. He was awarded a Fellowship of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and received the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

. He also received the World Organisation for Animal Health's Gold Medal and the

Animal Health Trust The Animal Health Trust (AHT) was a large national independent charity in the United Kingdom, employing over 200 scientists, vets and support workers. Its objectives were to study and to cure diseases in companion animals (horses, dogs and cats ...

’s Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award. He was awarded the

King Baudouin International Development Prize The King Baudouin Foundation is an independent and pluralistic foundation based in Brussels whose aim is to serve society. The Foundation was created in 1976, to mark the 25th anniversary of King Baudouin's reign. Its main objective is to make a la ...

1984-1985 by the Belgian monarch.

Honours and awards

''source:'' *1965 J.T. Edwards Memorial Medal, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons *1972 R.B. Bennett Commonwealth Prize of the Royal Society of Arts, London *1974

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

*1977 Fellow, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons *1979 Bledisloe Veterinary award, Royal Agricultural Society of England *1981

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

of London *1984 King Baudouin Prize for International Development *1984 Dalrymple-Champneys Award, British Veterinary Association *1987 Fellow,

*1988 Gold Medal, International Office of Epizootics, Paris *1991 Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, Animal Health Trust *1994 Gold Medal, European Society for Veterinary Virology *1994 Theiler Memorial Trust Lecture and Award *1999

References

External links

Walter Plowright
- ''Daily Telegraph'' obituary

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plowright, Walter 1923 births 2010 deaths English veterinarians People from Holbeach People associated with the Royal Veterinary College Alumni of the Royal Veterinary College Royal Army Veterinary Corps officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Spalding Grammar School British expatriates in Kenya British expatriates in Nigeria Agriculture and food award winners