News

Genetic changes alter pathogenicity and zoonotic potential of Salmonella Typhimurium

Two closely related variants of Salmonella Typhimurium, a major cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, have significantly different effects on pig health, a study has found. The two variants, U288 and ST34, are particularly dominant in pigs and differed in colonisation of the intestine and surrounding tissues and the severity of disease they produced, scientists from the […]

State-of-the-art Report article

An article published in the OIE Bulletin https://oiebulletin.com/?p=17807 , by S. Messori describes the work of the STAR-IDAZ IRC and provides the background to the State-of-the-art Report. The aim of this report is to provide STAR-IDAZ IRC Members (i.e., public and private research funders, as well as other animal health stakeholders) with an overview of […]

Study uncovers important details of lumpy skin disease virus transmission by insects

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have measured the risk of different insect species transmitting lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV). The findings are published in the Journal of Virology. LSDV causes severe disease in cattle and is rapidly emerging into new regions. It has recently spread from Africa and the Middle East into cattle populations in […]

Rising Sika deer populations linked to bovine TB infections in Ireland

Research published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science suggests Ireland’s increasing populations of Sika deer (Cervus nippon) may be linked to local outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB) infection in cattle. Although TB infection rates have decreased in general in recent decades, county-level data shows a correlation between higher Sika numbers and higher local TB infections – with […]

MAIT cells play a role in protecting cattle against bacterial infections

In a collaborative study, researchers at the Roslin Institute, The Pirbright Institute, the Universities of Oxford, Ultrech and Queensland, the University of Melbourne’s Doherty Institute, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency have identified new immune cells in cattle, called mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells. Human MAIT cells have been shown to tackle bacterial and […]

Tuberculosis: study sheds light on species-specific host-pathogen interactions

A multidisciplinary team led by researchers from The Francis Crick Institute and including University College Dublin, Public Health England, The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has shed new light on how the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) in humans and animals manipulate the host immune system to cause disease. […]

Gut microbiome associated with PRRS vaccine efficacy

A study led by researchers at Kansas State University aimed to identify gut microbiome characteristics associated with improved outcome in pigs immunized against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), after co-infection with PRRSV and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). “Our latest work is focused on how the gut microbiome impacts the response of growing […]

Genetic technologies may help control swine influenza

A review by scientists from the Roslin Institute, published in Porcine Health Management, suggests that gene editing tools could offer opportunities to curb swine influenza A virus on farms. Gene editing technologies could be used to precisely alter genes in pigs that influenza viruses use to establish infection, as has been done to tackle other […]

ZMAC cell line may improve isolation of PRRSV from clinical samples

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology shows that a new cell line may offer a better alternative to the cell line most commonly used to isolate porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) for diagnostics, research, and vaccine production. The findings could lead to more reliable processes for creating autogenous vaccines, although […]

Case of FMDV in dogs after eating infected meat

A case report filed by scientists at The Pirbright Institute details the first instance of naturally acquired foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) infection in dogs. In this unusual case reported in BMC Veterinary Research, FMDV was identified in a sample of heart tissue received by Pirbright’s diagnostic laboratory, the World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (WRLFMD). […]