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Veterinary experts meet to advance animal health and productivity for African farmers

Veterinary experts meet to advance animal health and productivity for African farmers  21 September 2017 – Animal health experts from Africa and the Middle East met in Abuja, Nigeria on 12-14th September to agree common research priorities for Africa and explore sharing of resources and facilities to maximise the impact of research in advancing the […]

International Veterinary Vaccinology Network Meeting 2017

The International Veterinary Vaccinology Network (IVVN) Meeting 2017 will take place at the Ole Sereni Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya on the 30-31 October 2017. The meeting aims to: bring together UK and low-and-middle income country partners to form collaborations; introduce other networks that IVVN members should be aware of and bring together academic with industrial and other non-academic […]

Veterinary vaccine nanotechnology: pulmonary and nasal delivery in livestock animals. (9/08/2017)

Nanoparticle (NP) technology has been shown to enhance immune activation by producing higher antibody titers and protection. Although specific mechanisms between NPs and biological membranes are still under investigation, physical parameters such as particle size and shape, as well as biological tissue distribution including mucociliary clearance influence the protection and delivery of antigens to the […]

Study explores how African swine fever spreads in backyard production systems

Researchers at the University of California, Davis’ Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance (CADMS) and FAO examined the pig trade structure of four pig-rearing regions of Georgia, a country with predominant backyard production systems, whose pig production was recently devastated as a consequence of African swine fever (ASF) epidemics. Their findings are reported in […]

Foot and mouth disease: impact of preclinical diagnosis on farm-to-farm transmission

Preclinical detection of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) during outbreaks has the potential to allow earlier culling of infected herds and thereby reduce transmission and aid the control of epidemics. During an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, current control and eradication methods rely on rapid clinical detection and the removal of infected herds. In a […]

Bats are the major reservoir of coronaviruses worldwide

Results of a five-year study in 20 countries on three continents have found that bats harbour a large diversity of coronaviruses (CoV). Findings from the study – led by scientists in the USAID-funded PREDICT project at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the University of […]

Pandemic potential of H9N2 avian influenza viruses studied

Researchers have identified the molecular mechanisms that enable H9N2 viruses – the most common type of avian influenza virus – to infect humans, helping improve risk assessments for its potential to cause pandemic. Although H9N2 viruses are considered less pathogenic than some types of avian influenza virus, they still cause significant losses for the poultry […]

Novel antibiotic resistance gene in milk

Researchers at the University of Bern have identified a new antibiotic resistance gene in Macrococcus caseolyticus strains from dairy cows. This gene confers resistance to all beta-lactam antibiotics including the last generation of cephalosporins used against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A transfer to S. aureus (which is possible according to the researchers) would jeopardize the […]

Unique structure of ASFV enzyme may allow drug development

A DNA-copying protein from African swine fever virus (ASFV) has a unique structure that may offer a target for drugs, according to a study published in PLoS Biology by Yiqing Chen and colleagues at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Viral replication depends in part on a polymerase enzyme, AsfvPolX, that repairs breaks in the DNA, […]

Gene editing for PRRSV resistance in pigs

Precision engineering renders target cells of PRRSV resistant to infection with the virus. Researchers have used advanced genetic techniques to produce pigs that are potentially resilient to Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). Early tests have revealed that cells from the pigs are completely resistant to infection with both major subtypes of the virus that […]