News
H7N9 avian influenza viruses: mutations found to increase threat to poultry, but reduce pandemic potential
Mutations in the H7N9 avian influenza virus increase its replication rate and stability in avian cells, but reduce its preference for infecting human cells, a study from The Pirbright Institute has found. The results show that outbreaks in birds caused by strains with these mutations could pose a lower risk to human health, while remaining […]
Pandemic – Webinar: expert’s views on emerging diseases and their control
The meeting report from the online meeting held on the 30th June 2020, is now published on this site https://www.star-idaz.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/PANDEMIC-Webinar-Report-030820.pdf . It was organised by STAR-IDAZ IRC and the Collaborative Working Group on Animal Health & Welfare Research (CWG-AHW). More than 500 participants heard about lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and how research on animal […]
Global action needed to stop the spread of African swine fever
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have launched a joint initiative for the Global Control of African swine fever. African swine Fever (ASF) has become a major crisis for the pork industry, causing massive losses in pig populations and generating drastic economic consequences. Currently […]
Database of infectious cattle diseases in East Africa
A database of East African cattle health has been developed over three years by an international team of researchers led by the Roslin Institute. The Infectious Diseases of East African Livestock (IDEAL) database, developed from a study of more than 500 East African calves, gives users free access to extensive data on genetics and physical […]
IBDV VP4 protein dampens poultry immune response
Work carried out by scientists at The Pirbright Institute has revealed that differences in virulence between strains of Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) may be partly down to changes in the VP4 protein. Their findings, published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, may help explain why very virulent (vv) strains cause high mortality rates […]
Additives may help mitigate the risk of ASFV transmission through feed
Researchers at Kansas State University have found that chemical feed additives may potentially serve as mitigants for reducing the risk of introduction and transmission of African swine fever virus (ASFV) through feed. Their findings are published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. The research team, headed by Megan Niederwerder, assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology […]
Pandemic – Webinar: expert’s views on emerging diseases and their control
Pandemic – Webinar: expert’s views on emerging diseases and their control The threat of future emerging diseases, and the ways in which the scientific community should respond were examined in a lively international Webinar on 30 June. The Webinar was recorded and is available at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8poA5_XLec The event, organised jointly by the […]
Latest STAR-IDAZ IRC Newsletter
STAR IDAZ IRC Newsletter – June 2020 See the STAR-IDAZ newsletter here
Burden of zoonotic tuberculosis may be underestimated
The number of human tuberculosis (TB) cases that are due to transmission from animals, as opposed to human-to-human transmission, may be much higher than previously estimated, according to an international team of researchers. They report in The Lancet Microbe that, in addition to Mycobacterium bovis, other members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), such as […]
Study confirms pooled milk can be used for FMD surveillance
A case study undertaken by scientists at The Pirbright Institute has confirmed that milk obtained from in-line milk samplers on a large-scale dairy farm can be used to detect circulating Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in cattle. Previous work carried out by the team had shown that it was possible to detect FMDV from the milk […]