News
OIE: Action needed to curb the spread of African swine fever in the Americas
Since 2018, African swine fever (ASF) has spread relentlessly, affecting more than 50 countries in Africa, Europe and Asia. Countries in the Americas Region are now also on alert, as the Dominican Republic has notified through the World Animal Health Information System (OIE-WAHIS) the reoccurrence of ASF after years of being free from the disease. […]
Improved poultry influenza vaccine provides rapid protection
A vaccine developed by researchers at The Pirbright Institute triggers a rapid immune response which protects chickens against signs of disease and reduces virus shedding. The researchers say the vaccine would also be easier and less costly to produce than the traditional influenza vaccines made in chicken eggs. Many poultry influenza vaccines protect birds from […]
Cocktail of recombinant proteins protects cattle against paratuberculosis
Scientists with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have developed an experimental vaccine to protect cattle from infection with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Rather than use the cells of live but weakened or dead MAP, as has been done with past commercial vaccine formulations, ARS microbiologists Judy Stabel and John Bannantine set their sights […]
Symposium: Filling the knowledge gaps in animal disease control, 20 October 2021
A symposium organised by DISCONTOOLS in collaboration with STAR-IDAZ IRC, and hosted by AnimalhealthEurope will be held on the 20 October 2021. This will be a ‘face-to-face’ meeting held in Brussels rather than a virtual meeting that we have become used to. The symposium will draw on the DISCONTOOLS and STAR-IDAZ IRC initiatives to identify […]
Tetramer-based analysis of FMDV segments could improve vaccine effectiveness
Researchers from The Pirbright Institute have identified new parts of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) that stimulate an immune response. Their findings, reported in Immunology, could be used to inform the design of improved vaccines. They also discovered that T helper cells were present in cattle samples four years after the animals had been vaccinated, indicating […]
OIE report indicates decreasing trend in antimicrobial use
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) recently published its Fifth OIE Annual Report on Antimicrobial Agents Intended for Use in Animals. The report provides details on the global use of antimicrobial agents adjusted for animal biomass for 2017 and interprets the overall findings of the annual data collection on the use of antimicrobial agents […]
Veterinary Vaccinology Landscape Survey: Community Consultation
UKRI-BBSRC, on behalf of the veterinary vaccinology research funders and programme owners, are consulting the research community (including those in academia, funding agencies, industry and others) on the current veterinary vaccinology research and innovation needs, as well as the future perspectives. The overall purpose is to gain a better understanding of the priorities, gaps, and barriers […]
International expert panel to address the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases
International organizations have come together to launch a One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) to improve understanding of how diseases with the potential to trigger pandemics emerge and spread. The inaugural meeting was held on 17th May. The panel will advise the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations […]
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 […]