Tag: vector-borne diseases
Climate Change Bites Webinar. [how climate change is driving vector-borne disease in plants, animals and humans]
The webinar consists of short presentations from: Professor Gary Foster, Professor of Molecular Plant Pathology at the University of Bristol, specializing in plant virology and plant molecular biology, Dr Rachel Lowe, Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, specialising in the risk of disease transmission. Dr Bethan Purse, senior scientist at […]
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 […]
Phylogenetic analysis suggests accidental release as a potential cause of bluetongue re-emergence
Research published in PLOS Biology suggests that the recent re-emergence of Bluetongue virus (BTV) in France could have been caused by human activities, based on the virus’ unusual genetic makeup. In the study, led by researchers at the University of Glasgow (UK) with a consortium of European collaborators, the authors compared genomes of the virus […]
Changing climate impacts bluetongue vectors
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute, Rothamsted Research, The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the Met Office have provided evidence that the UK midge season has extended over the last 40 years due to climate change. The findings could help scientists to make better predictions about how the spread of livestock diseases that are transmitted […]
Limiting the spread of bluetongue in northern Europe
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have used mathematical modelling to identify why the 2007 UK outbreak of bluetongue was smaller than it could have been and to predict the future impact of the disease in northern Europe as the climate warms. A paper published in Scientific Reports suggests that a combination of geographic location, […]
Adaptation of Ugandan cattle to East Coast fever: landscape genomics analysis
Researchers have investigated the genetics of tolerance to theileriosis in indigenous cattle from Uganda. They first produced a map showing the areas of Uganda where the disease is most prevalent. The map is the result of a novel method compiling epidemiological data collected from 823 indigenous cattle along with their location. Using an environmental genomics […]
First complete genome of the biting midge may lead to advances in control of arboviruses
Reseachers at The Pirbright Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute have generated and built the first complete Culicoides biting midge genome. These flies transmit a range of economically important animal viruses, including Bluetongue virus. “Providing the biting midge genome enables scientists to work out where important genes are located and in some cases what their […]