Category: News
Study finds African buffalo and gazelle unlikely to sustain spread of PPRV
A collaborative study involving scientists from The Pirbright Institute, has revealed that African buffalo and Grant’s gazelle are unlikely to sustain circulation of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), improving prospects for disease eradication. The role of wild species in PPRV epidemiology is unclear, which is a knowledge gap for the Global Strategy for the […]
ASFV vaccine candidate produced in a continuous cell line
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has announced that an African swine fever virus (ASFV) vaccine candidate has been adapted to grow in a cell line, which means that those involved in vaccine production will no longer have to rely on live pigs and their fresh cells for vaccine production. “This opens […]
Genetic changes alter pathogenicity and zoonotic potential of Salmonella Typhimurium
Two closely related variants of Salmonella Typhimurium, a major cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, have significantly different effects on pig health, a study has found. The two variants, U288 and ST34, are particularly dominant in pigs and differed in colonisation of the intestine and surrounding tissues and the severity of disease they produced, scientists from the […]
State-of-the-art Report article
An article published in the OIE Bulletin https://oiebulletin.com/?p=17807 , by S. Messori describes the work of the STAR-IDAZ IRC and provides the background to the State-of-the-art Report. The aim of this report is to provide STAR-IDAZ IRC Members (i.e., public and private research funders, as well as other animal health stakeholders) with an overview of […]
Study uncovers important details of lumpy skin disease virus transmission by insects
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have measured the risk of different insect species transmitting lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV). The findings are published in the Journal of Virology. LSDV causes severe disease in cattle and is rapidly emerging into new regions. It has recently spread from Africa and the Middle East into cattle populations in […]
Rising Sika deer populations linked to bovine TB infections in Ireland
Research published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science suggests Ireland’s increasing populations of Sika deer (Cervus nippon) may be linked to local outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB) infection in cattle. Although TB infection rates have decreased in general in recent decades, county-level data shows a correlation between higher Sika numbers and higher local TB infections – with […]
MAIT cells play a role in protecting cattle against bacterial infections
In a collaborative study, researchers at the Roslin Institute, The Pirbright Institute, the Universities of Oxford, Ultrech and Queensland, the University of Melbourne’s Doherty Institute, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency have identified new immune cells in cattle, called mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells. Human MAIT cells have been shown to tackle bacterial and […]
Tuberculosis: study sheds light on species-specific host-pathogen interactions
A multidisciplinary team led by researchers from The Francis Crick Institute and including University College Dublin, Public Health England, The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has shed new light on how the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) in humans and animals manipulate the host immune system to cause disease. […]
Gut microbiome associated with PRRS vaccine efficacy
A study led by researchers at Kansas State University aimed to identify gut microbiome characteristics associated with improved outcome in pigs immunized against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), after co-infection with PRRSV and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). “Our latest work is focused on how the gut microbiome impacts the response of growing […]
Genetic technologies may help control swine influenza
A review by scientists from the Roslin Institute, published in Porcine Health Management, suggests that gene editing tools could offer opportunities to curb swine influenza A virus on farms. Gene editing technologies could be used to precisely alter genes in pigs that influenza viruses use to establish infection, as has been done to tackle other […]