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FAO warns African swine fever may spread in Asia

The rapid onset of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China, and its detection in areas more than one thousand kilometres apart within the country, could mean the virus may spread to other Asian countries anytime, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned. So far, in efforts to control the spread of the disease, […]

African swine fever in China – first report

The first outbreak of African swine fever in China has been confirmed on 3 Aug 2018 by Dr. Zhang Zhongqui, Director General, China Animal Disease Control Centre, Veterinary Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China. (Since the first outbreak there are reports of 2 more confirmed and one more not yet confirmed.) China has the largest pig […]

Detection of FMDV in milk samples: potential for disease surveillance

Researchers at The Pirbright Institute and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory have shown it could be possible to detect Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in pooled milk samples stored in bulk tanks. The results suggest that milk testing could contribute to disease surveillance both during and after […]

Research aims to lower the cost of IBV vaccine production

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) vaccines are currently produced in hen’s eggs – a cumbersome and expensive process – because most IBV strains do not grow in cell cultures. In a step towards making vaccine production more efficient and reducing costs, a team led by Dr Erica Bickerton at The Pirbright Institute identified the exact genetic […]

Peste des petits ruminants: model of transmission and elimination in Ethiopia

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is targeted for eradication through mass vaccination campaigns. While an efficacious vaccine exists, the level of PPR virus (PPRV) transmission in animal populations is unknown. By combining the results from a nationwide serological survey with a dynamic model simulating viral spread, researchers have estimated viral transmission potential in Ethiopia, where […]

Consortium to tackle African swine fever and lumpy skin disease

An international partnership of organisations is working together to control the growing African swine fever (ASF) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) epidemics in Europe and neighbouring countries. The need for a collaborative approach to tackle ASF and LSD has been recognised by the European Union Horizon 2020 programme, which has awarded €5.6 million in funding […]

Method developed to detect FMDV in the environment

Sampling the environment is an effective way to detect Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), according to a paper published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The sampling method, swabbing environmental surfaces where livestock are kept, can be easily performed and can detect viral genetic material that can persist in the environment well beyond the time when livestock […]

Recombinant viral vector for poultry vaccination

Researchers at The Pirbright Institute have developed a new recombinant viral vector-based vaccine that is effective against both Marek’s disease (MD) and infectious bursal disease (IBD). Their study is published in npj Vaccines. Many poultry vaccines currently use a modified herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT) to induce protection. Although these vaccines are effective when used alone, […]

Are best practice principles of worm control being deployed at farm level?

Because of the increasing prevalence of drug resistant parasites, more sustainable approaches to worm control need to be deployed on farms to protect anthelmintic efficacy. These ‘best practice’ approaches include the appropriate application of dewormers and the use of evidence-based protocols involving diagnostics, to inform the need for anthelmintic treatments, alongside management practices designed to […]

Ruminant livestock are important hosts of Leptospira in northern Tanzania

Leptospirosis, which affects more than one million people worldwide each year, is known to be transmitted to humans from a wide range of animals. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have discovered that more than 7 percent of the cattle and 1 percent of sheep and goats in local slaughterhouses in northern Tanzania […]