News
Universal FMDV test developed
A diagnostic test that can detect whether an animal has been infected by or vaccinated against any type of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) has been developed by scientists at The Pirbright Institute and Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia Romagna (IZSLER). The test could be used in countries where foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks are […]
Avian influenza: recombinant antibodies reduce symptoms and virus shedding in chickens
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have engineered synthetic antibody molecules that can be administered to poultry to reduce the symptoms of influenza, as well as decreasing the amount of virus they shed into the environment. These results suggest that there is potential for their use as immunotherapy treatments to reduce the burden of influenza in […]
Efforts to control PPRV should focus on herd management style, not age
A study in Tanzania explored the rate of Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) infection across ages and livestock management styles of sheep and goats, as well as in cattle, which do not express symptoms but can be infected by the virus. The study, published in the journal Viruses, provides insight into how to target […]
Genome-wide transcriptome study of African swine fever virus
Scientists from The Pirbright Institute and University College London (UCL) have mapped the expression of genes across the entire African swine fever virus (ASFV) genome, which has helped to establish their order of activation as well as uncovering new genes. In their study, published in the Journal of Virology, the researchers used next generation sequencing […]
Ear implant delivers anaplasmosis vaccine to cattle
Researchers at the Kansas State University, in collaboration with Iowa State University, have developed a new vaccine delivery platform to produce long-lasting protection against bovine anaplasmosis. The results of their study are published in the Journal of Animal Science. “Currently, a common strategy to control anaplasmosis is to provide mineral or feed containing the antibiotic […]
Nipah vaccine candidates generate a strong immune response in pigs
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have shown that two new potential vaccines against Nipah virus developed by the University of Parma generate a strong immune response in pigs. These promising results suggest the vaccines could protect pigs against Nipah virus infection, which can cause respiratory problems and fatal encephalitis in pigs and humans. By preventing […]
Epidemiological analyses of African swine fever in the European Union
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its latest annual update on the presence of African swine fever (ASF) in the European Union. During the period covered by the report – November 2018 to October 2019 – Czechia became officially ASF-free. The disease was, however, confirmed as present in Slovakia, meaning there continue to […]
Resilience to bovine TB traced to key genes
Researchers have mapped active and inactive genes in bovine alveolar macrophages (bAM), which play a key role in countering bovine tuberculosis (bTB) infections. The findings of the study, led by scientists at University College Dublin (UCD) in collaboration with The Roslin Institute, are published in Frontiers in Genetics. In order to map which genes in […]
Bluetongue virus strain and origin in 2016 Cyprus outbreak determined
In September 2016, suspected cases of bluetongue in sheep were simultaneously reported in three different locations in Cyprus. Scientists at the European Union Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue (EURL-BT) at The Pirbright Institute confirmed that BTV-8 was present in all samples submitted by the National Reference Laboratory in Nicosia, Cyprus. This was the first time that […]
Experimental vaccine for African swine fever virus shows promise
Researchers have discovered a previously uncharacterized virus gene, which when deleted completely attenuates the Georgia isolate (ASFV-G) of African swine fever virus. Animals infected with this genetically modified virus were protected from developing ASF after challenge with the virulent parental virus. The findings are reported in the Journal of Virology. In the study, both low […]