Remembering the Heidelberg Catechism in South Africa today? Some remarks on the commemoration of a 16th century reformed confession

With the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism of 2013 in mind, this article offers some remarks on the question what it means to remember and commemorate this 16th century Reformed confession in South Africa today. The first part of the article argues that commemorations invite us to be conscious of the close link between memory and identity, as well as to the fact that our memories of the past are often highly contested memories. The second part of the paper comments on the status of the Heidelberg Catechism as a historical document, while the third part of the paper extends the discussion with a focus on the reception of the Heidelberg Catechism in South Africa. By highlighting a few episodes from its reception history, the article affirms the view of the Heidelberg Catechism as an important identity marker amidst contestation

Beyond mere repetition: On tradition, creativity and theological speech

This article argues for understanding Christian theological speech, including a Reformed engagement with confessions, as ‘traditioned creativity’. The argument is introduced by highlighting a theological hermeneutic that underlies the Belhar confession’s accompanying letter. This discussion points towards an account of Christian discourse that is ‘traditioned’ by the past but also moves beyond the mere repetition of the tradition’s authoritative statements. The article, therefore, affirms the need to distinguish between a living tradition and a narrow traditionalism. In addition, the article also interrogates some forms of theological rhetoric in which ‘tradition’ functions to insert control over spaces and people, often exhibiting totalising discourses and over-triumphant claims. Contribution: The conclusion links a hermeneutic of tradition (that sees Christian speech, doctrine and action as ‘traditioned creativity’) to some metaphors that can further illuminate what it means for a tradition to be open to the future in a way that displays vulnerability and vitality

The African swine fever control zone in South Africa and its current relevance

African swine fever (ASF) has been reported in South Africa since the early 20th century. The disease has been controlled and confined to northern South Africa over the past 80 years by means of a well-defined boundary line, with strict control measures and movement restrictions north of this line. In 2012, the first outbreak of ASF outside the ASF control zone since 1996 occurred. The objective of this study was to evaluate the current relevance of the ASF control line as a demarcation line between endemic ASF (north) areas and ASF-free (south) area and to determine whether there was a need to realign its trajectory, given the recent outbreaks of ASF, global climate changes and urban development since the line’s inception. A study of ASF determinants was conducted in an area 20 km north and 20 km south of the ASF control line, in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Gauteng provinces between May 2008 and September 2012. The study confirmed that warthogs, warthog burrows and the soft tick reservoir, Ornithodoros moubata, are present south of the ASF control line, but no virus or viral DNA was detected in these ticks. There appears to be an increasing trend in the diurnal maximum temperature and a decrease in humidity along the line, but the impact of these changes is uncertain. No discernible changes in minimum temperatures and average rainfall along the disease control line were observed between 1992 and 2014. Even though the reservoirs were found south of the ASF boundary line, the study concluded that there was no need to realign the trajectory of the ASF disease control line, with the exception of Limpopo Province. However, the provincial surveillance programmes for the reservoir, vector and ASF virus south of this line needs to be maintained and intensified as changing farming practices may favour the spread of ASF virus beyond the control line

Assessment of the Suitability of the Fall Cone Method to Replace the Casagrande Cup for Liquid Limit Determination of South African Soils

Widely used methods for estimating the swelling-shrinkage potential of soil in South Africa rely heavily on accurate determination of soil consistency limits. The liquid limit and plastic limit tests are usually determined using one of two techniques, the Casagrande percussion cup and the fall-cone (penetrometer). One or both of these have been adopted as the standard measurement approaches for the determination of liquid limit in most countries. The former method is implemented in South Africa as well as in the USA, whilst the fall-cone method is accepted in the UK and by Eurocode 7. The relatively large size of sample required for the fall cone test (approximately 300g) has made the fall-cone method rather unattractive in South Africa. Coupled with the care needed to fill the test cup while taking care not to include any air pockets this may explain the rather negative attitude of testing services to the fall cone. Lack of acceptance may have been aggravated by high spatial variability of properties of South African active clays leading to poor correlation between tests in some cases. This paper investigates the suitability of the fall-cone method to replace the Casagrande cup, tai-lored to the peculiarities of active clays, but extendable to soils of varied types

Microbial quality of drinking water from groundtanks and tankers at source and point-of-use in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa, and its relationship to health outcomes

Drinking water quality was investigated at source and corresponding point-of-use in 2 peri-urban areas receiving drinking water either by communal water tanker or by delivery directly from the distribution system to household-based groundtanks with taps. Water quality variables measured were heterotrophic bacteria, total coliforms, E. coli, conductivity, turbidity, pH, and total and residual chlorine. Water quality data were analysed together with an existing epidemiological database to investigate links between microbial quality of drinking water, household demographics, health outcomes, socio-economic status, hygiene and sanitation practices. Groundtank households had better quality drinking water than households using storage containers filled from communal tankers. Uncovered storage containers had the poorest microbial water quality among all storage containers. All stored water did not meet drinking water standards, although mains water did. Households with children under 5 years and using open-topped containers had the poorest water quality overall. Households with groundtanks had the best water quality at point-of-use, but did not have the lowest occurrence of health effects. Although groundtanks were supplied together with urine diversion (UD) toilets and hygiene education, groundtank households showed overall poorer hygiene practices than tanker-supplied households, and some groundtank households with UD toilets preferred to continue using open defecation. Households that practised open defecation had higher levels of E. coli in their drinking water and higher rates of adverse health outcomes. Poorer socio-economic standing and lower educational standard were associated with poorer water quality, poorer hygiene practices and higher rates of diarrhoea and vomiting.Keywords: drinking water; point of use; water quality; water quantity; hygiene; sanitatio

Sequence-based prediction for vaccine strain selection and identification of antigenic variability in foot-and-mouth disease virus

Identifying when past exposure to an infectious disease will protect against newly emerging strains is central to understanding the spread and the severity of epidemics, but the prediction of viral cross-protection remains an important unsolved problem. For foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) research in particular, improved methods for predicting this cross-protection are critical for predicting the severity of outbreaks within endemic settings where multiple serotypes and subtypes commonly co-circulate, as well as for deciding whether appropriate vaccine(s) exist and how much they could mitigate the effects of any outbreak. To identify antigenic relationships and their predictors, we used linear mixed effects models to account for variation in pairwise cross-neutralization titres using only viral sequences and structural data. We identified those substitutions in surface-exposed structural proteins that are correlates of loss of cross-reactivity. These allowed prediction of both the best vaccine match for any single virus and the breadth of coverage of new vaccine candidates from their capsid sequences as effectively as or better than serology. Sub-sequences chosen by the model-building process all contained sites that are known epitopes on other serotypes. Furthermore, for the SAT1 serotype, for which epitopes have never previously been identified, we provide strong evidence - by controlling for phylogenetic structure - for the presence of three epitopes across a panel of viruses and quantify the relative significance of some individual residues in determining cross-neutralization. Identifying and quantifying the importance of sites that predict viral strain cross-reactivity not just for single viruses but across entire serotypes can help in the design of vaccines with better targeting and broader coverage. These techniques can be generalized to any infectious agents where cross-reactivity assays have been carried out. As the parameterization uses pre-existing datasets, this approach quickly and cheaply increases both our understanding of antigenic relationships and our power to control disease

Assessment of the Suitability of the Fall Cone Method to Replace the Casagrande Cup for Liquid Limit Determination of South African Soils

Widely used methods for estimating the swelling-shrinkage potential of soil in South Africa rely heavily on accurate determination of soil consistency limits. The liquid limit and plastic limit tests are usually determined using one of two techniques, the Casagrande percussion cup and the fall-cone (penetrometer). One or both of these have been adopted as the standard measurement approaches for the determination of liquid limit in most countries. The former method is implemented in South Africa as well as in the USA, whilst the fall-cone method is accepted in the UK and by Eurocode 7. The relatively large size of sample required for the fall cone test (approximately 300g) has made the fall-cone method rather unattractive in South Africa. Coupled with the care needed to fill the test cup while taking care not to include any air pockets this may explain the rather negative attitude of testing services to the fall cone. Lack of acceptance may have been aggravated by high spatial variability of properties of South African active clays leading to poor correlation between tests in some cases. This paper investigates the suitability of the fall-cone method to replace the Casagrande cup, tai-lored to the peculiarities of active clays, but extendable to soils of varied types

Investigation into the epidemiology of African swine fever virus at the wildlife - domestic interface of the Gorongosa National Park, Central Mozambique

An epidemiological study of African swine fever (ASF) was conducted between March 2006 and September 2007 in a rural area adjacent to the Gorongosa National park (GNP) located in the Central Mozambique. Domestic pigs and warthogs were sampled to determine the prevalence of antibodies against ASF virus and the salivary antigens of Ornithodoros spp. ticks, while ticks collected from pig pens were tested for the presence of ASFV. In addition, 310 framers were interviewed to gain a better understanding of the pig value chain and potential practices that could impact on the spread of the virus. The sero-prevalence to ASFV was 12.6% on farms and 9.1% in pigs, while it reached 75% in warthogs. Approximately 33% of pigs and 78% of warthogs showed antibodies against salivary antigens of ticks. The differences in sero-prevalence between farms close to the GNP, where there is greater chance for the sylvatic cycle to cause outbreaks, and farms located in the rest of the district, where pig to pig transmission is more likely to occur, were marginally significant. Ornithodoros spp. ticks were found in only 2 of 20 pig pens outside the GNP, and both pens had ticks testing positive for ASFV DNA. Interviews carried out among farmers indicated that biosecurity measures were mostly absent. Herd sizes were small with pigs kept in a free-ranging husbandry system (65%). Only 1.6% of farmers slaughtered on their premises, but 51% acknowledged allowing visitors into their farms to purchase pigs. ASF outbreaks seemed to have a severe economic impact with nearly 36% of farmers ceasing pig farming for at least 1 year after a suspected ASF outbreak. This study provides the first evidence of the existence of a sylvatic cycle in Mozambique and confirms the presence of a permanent source of virus for the domestic pig value chain.Wellcome Trust (Project number 210183. 183 AHDW03/04).http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1865-16822017-08-30hb201