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Honorary Member of the International Veterinary Pigeons Association, Prof. Erhard F. Kaleta passed away HONOR HIS MEMORY
Dear Pigeon Lovers! We regret to inform you that on 18.01. 2021 Mr. Prof. dr hab. Dr. h.c. Erhard Franz Kaleta, an outstanding German specialist in the field of bird diseases passed away. Deeply mourned, the General Board of IVPA expresses its sincere condolences to the Professor’s family and friends. Professor Erhard Franz Kaleta was born on the 18th April, 1939 in Haldensleben in the federal state of Saxony-Anhald. The professor studied veterinary medicine at universities in Hanover, Belgrade and Vienna. In 1963 he obtained the title of veterinarian. Three years later, at the Veterinary Faculty in Hanover, he defended his doctoral thesis and became an assistant at the Poultry Diseases Clinic of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover. In 1974, he obtained his habilitation on the basis of the dissertation “Multiplication, interference and interferon induction of avian herpesviruses in the aspect of vaccination against Marek’s disease”. In 1978, Prof. Kaleta became the head of the Poultry Diseases Diagnostics Laboratory at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, and 5 years later he became a professor for poultry diseases and veterinary hygiene at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, which he held until his retirement. He was the author of over 200 scientific publications and together with Prof. Maria Elisabeth Krautwald-Junghans, editor of an exceptionally valuable study – Compendium of Diseases of Ornamental Birds. He was also a member and advisor of national and international institutions dealing with combating viral diseases of poultry. In 2010, he received an honorary doctorate at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Leipzig. For many years the professor dealt with pigeon diseases. The name of the professor is associated with pioneering research on viral diseases of pigeons, with particular emphasis on the epizootic of paramyxovirosis in the 1980s. He actively collaborated with the German Pigeon Breeders Association. In recognition of his merits in the field of columbopathology, on the 6th march, 2020, the Professor was awarded the title of Honorary Member of our organization by the Resolution of the General Assembly of the International Veterinary Pigeons Association.
Let him rest in peace! On behalf of the IVPA Management Board Prof. dr hab. Piotr Szeleszczuk |
