Category: News
Two PPRV vaccines protect against all strains
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have conducted a study to directly compare the ability of two vaccines to protect susceptible animals against wildtype viruses from any of the four genetic lineages of Peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV). Through analysing the immune response of goats that were administered the vaccines, they were able to demonstrate that both vaccines […]
PPR virus threatens wild ungulates
A team of conservationists from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), FAO and the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, have published a letter in Science on the threat of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) to conservation. PPR is a highly contagious viral disease of sheep and goats that is spreading into new […]
Integration of livestock and wildlife may reduce the abundance of ticks in East Africa
A study, reported in the journal Nature Sustainability, has found that the integration of livestock and wildlife in a large region of central Kenya (Laikipia County) can have ecological benefits, reducing the abundance of ticks and improving forage. “Laikipia County hosts 10 percent of Kenya’s wildlife, but none of the country’s national parks or preserves,” […]
Project aims to boost productivity and health of village chickens
Adopting a more local and flexible approach to sustainable development could be key to improving the productivity of small-scale chicken farms in Ethiopia, according to a study published in Nature Sustainability. The research was led by the University of Liverpool, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, University of Nottingham, the Royal Veterinary College, Wageningen […]
Gene-edited pigs are resistant to TGEV
A team of researchers from the University of Missouri, Kansas State University and Genus plc has succeeded in producing pigs that are resistant to Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) by means of gene editing. Their study is published in Transgenic Research. “Previous research had identified an enzyme called ANPEP as a potential receptor for the virus, […]
Adaptation of Ugandan cattle to East Coast fever: landscape genomics analysis
Researchers have investigated the genetics of tolerance to theileriosis in indigenous cattle from Uganda. They first produced a map showing the areas of Uganda where the disease is most prevalent. The map is the result of a novel method compiling epidemiological data collected from 823 indigenous cattle along with their location. Using an environmental genomics […]
Lactic acid bacteria from badgers display inhibitory activity to BCG
The use of the human tuberculosis vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), in badgers has been suggested as a humane and long-term solution to reduce tuberculosis transmission from badgers to cattle. However, experimental studies show variable protection. Among the possibilities for this variation is that the resident gut bacteria may influence the success of oral vaccination in […]
Creating FMDV hybrids for better vaccines
In collaborative research led by The Pirbright Institute, scientists have generated a hybrid Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) with improved stability, which will increase its effectiveness when administered as a vaccine. They targeted the Southern African Territories (SAT) 2 serotype viruses, which are among the least stable of the seven different types of FMDV. Developing vaccines […]
Study traces FMDV escape from Indian subcontinent
The seven different serotypes of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) can be split further into lineages which normally exist in specific geographical areas or ‘pools’. Over the past five years, the geographical range of a serotype O lineage, named Ind-2001, has dramatically expanded into many countries in Asia and North Africa. Pirbright Institute researchers from the […]
H7N9 and H7N2 highly pathogenic viruses detected in ducks
H7N9 low pathogenic Influenza A viruses emerged in China in 2013 and mutated to highly pathogenic strains in 2017, resulting in human infections and disease in chickens. To control spread, a bivalent H5/H7 inactivated vaccine was introduced in poultry (mainly chickens) in September 2017. Recent findings suggest that the vaccine largely worked, but researchers report […]