News from August 2017

Scientists from across the UK and China gathered in Surrey today at the UK-China CERAD symposium (Centre of Excellence for Research on Avian Diseases) – the first such event to be held in the UK. Organised by The Pirbright Institute, ‘Recent Advances in Avian Disease Research’ is taking place from…

The continued advance of African swine fever (ASF) through Eastern European countries has triggered concern amongst pig farmers and governing bodies. Defra has upgraded the threat to the UK from ‘very low’ to ‘low’ – meaning the risk is “rare but could occur” (EFSA terminology). This severe disease…

A £2,359,553 grant has been awarded by Innovate UK to The Pirbright Institute’s Dr Simon Graham to lead an international team developing an inexpensive, safe and effective vaccine to protect pigs against Nipah virus (NiV). The grant will allow scientists from Pirbright and partners in the UK…

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have successfully validated two new portable tests for the diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). One test confirms the presence of FMD virus (FMDV), and the other is the first portable test able to differentiate between the four FMD types prevalent in…