Senior Communications Manager, Vuyo Sabani, chats with Prof. Barry Schoub, the founding executive director of the NICD, whose new book Fighting an Invisible Enemy: The Story of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases was published in August.
Besides the encouragement from Prof. Metz, your wife and other colleagues, what inspired you to write this book about the history and formation of the NICD?
Prof. Schoub: The initial idea to launch the book came from Professor Jack Metz, a previous Director of the South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR). He had just completed his book on the history of the SAIMR, entitled “South Africa’s Health Sentinel”. Essentially, it is a volume which documents the history of that institute from 1974 to 1999. He strongly urged me to similarly document the history of the NICD, from its early inception as the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation (PRF), through the phase of its predecessor organisations, the National Institute for Virology (NIV) and the microbiology arm of the SAIMR, to the current NICD. Encouraged by my wife, I then set about collecting documentation, correspondence, records and other material from the past and the present in order to put a similar book together.
You make it clear in the book that this is not a reference text, so who are you targeting with this book and why?
Prof. Schoub: Initially, while the book was primarily intended to be a historical document, it evolved into a volume with the potential for a considerably broader readership. Of course, I originally assumed there would mainly be interest from past and present members of the Institute and affiliated public health and scientific bodies, as well as health practitioners and related academia. However, there was certainly never any intention for it to be yet another text on infectious diseases or public health — there is certainly more than enough of those. Rather I wanted the book to demonstrate the workings of an infectious disease public health institute and how it goes about addressing these crucial public health challenges. There is very much a human side in responding to the challenges of managing infectious disease outbreaks, not least of them the formidable political challenges. The anecdotes, the setbacks, the obstacles and the triumphs are all part and parcel of the colourful story of the NICD.
What do you hope they will gain from this book?
Prof. Schoub: I anticipate that there will be a reasonably broad spectrum of readers of the book. Firstly, for the younger reader, perhaps at an undergraduate student level, I hope the book will illustrate what a career in infectious diseases involves — from bread-and-butter surveillance to the more dramatic formidable disease outbreak management. Secondly, I seriously hope that the book will resonate with key decision makers, particularly those handling the purse strings, to show how crucially important it is for the welfare of the nation to have a well-resourced public health infectious diseases facility. Lastly, for the person in the street, who has been fascinated by the many fictional outbreaks and pandemics, here they could see what the real-life looks like.
Why should public health experts and the public in general, for that matter, read this book?
Prof. Schoub: The NICD occupies a pivotal position in the management of the infectious disease component of public health, nationally, regionally and globally. Public health practitioners in the field and in management, who are dependent on the NICD, would greatly benefit from understanding the Institute, how it is structured and how it functions, as well as its challenges. To the general public, outbreaks and epidemics feature very prominently in the media as well as in the entertainment sphere. The book describes the real thing.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
Prof. Schoub: There is a great deal of history behind the NICD and its predecessor institutions. What to include and what to omit was the foremost challenge I faced. I was very conscious not to end up with a thick tome. Nevertheless, there was much that I was forced to leave out in the interest of brevity. Very important laboratories, very important components of the Institute, and very important functions of the Institute had regrettably been minimised or even left out. I do hope that my NICD colleagues will forgive me for these omissions. While the book needed to be a relatively short read, within that modest volume, it still had to embrace the key nuts and bolts of the NICD chronicle. It was also intended to appeal to a broad audience. Lastly, I designed the content of the book such that it would have a sequential flow, beginning with its early history through to its current major divisions and then finally ending up with the challenges for the future.
What was the most satisfying aspect of writing this book?
Prof. Schoub: The most satisfying part of writing the book was reflecting on how the Institute has developed since its earliest challenging times. I personally, of course, have a very emotional connection to the Institute, having initially proposed the idea, participated in its design and served as its founding Director. Describing the embryonic challenges brought back earlier difficulties, but portraying the current Institute has been enormously gratifying.
You write about how the NICD started small and has become one of the world’s most revered public health institutes, what do you attribute to the Institute’s success?
Prof. Schoub: I feel that there are three factors which have contributed to the success of the Institute, and the success it certainly enjoys on the international stage. First and foremost is the human currency. I cannot adequately laud the women and men of the Institute, from the most senior researchers to the critically important support staff. Not only has it been their intellectual output, but also their collegiality, dedication and loyalty to their mission, which has been the prime contributor to the Institute’s success. Secondly, located where it is geographically, the Institute is in a particularly favourable position to carry out important investigation and research into infectious diseases, of local and also global interest. Thirdly, the NICD has enjoyed extremely important working relationships, both with sister laboratories and institutions in the country, as well as important collaborations globally.
Is there an area you feel the Institute could improve on?
Prof. Schoub: I find it difficult to pinpoint where the Institute could improve. It has advanced so impressively since its earlier days.
Looking back on your time at the NICD, what would you say is your legacy as a founding executive director?
Prof. Schoub: I am not sure I feel a need for the Institute to have my legacy. I am thankful that the idea to establish the Institute came to me way back in 1995, and I am equally grateful that I could play a role in establishing the Institute in the latter part of that decade. Beyond that, where the NICD is today is a legacy and testament to all the wonderful staff who have made their individual contributions to its success.
We last saw you during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the vaccination stream. Are you still active in public life? If so, what are you currently doing?
Prof. Schoub: Following my retirement from the NICD, I became a member of the board of the NHLS and served as chairman of that board for a while. During the COVID pandemic, I chaired the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID vaccines. I still serve on the Board of Trustees of the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation as well as a few other committees.
What do you miss the most about working at the NICD?
Prof. Schoub: The warm friendship of my NICD colleagues.
Any last word to your colleagues at the NICD?
Prof. Schoub: Please keep up the excellent work! Sometimes there may be setbacks, but that is what comes with science and scientific progress. During my own career as Director of NICD, and often faced with both scientific and bureaucratic hurdles, I was reminded of this meaningful quote from one of the most famous scientists of all time, Marie Curie, the only person ever to have won two Nobel prizes within the same division – “I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.” But, in the end, it is all very worthwhile!
The book is available at all good bookstores.
