News from January 2018

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute and Imperial College London have been awarded a grant by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to research what makes particular strains of bird flu more likely to adapt to mammalian hosts, and possibly initiate a pandemic. The…

The Pirbright Institute has been awarded over £1million by the BBSRC-Newton Fund to tackle four major viral diseases that threaten livestock populations across Asia. Pirbright scientists will study two poultry and two pig diseases that have a severe impact on the wellbeing of animals and contribute…

Researchers at The Pirbright Institute have created a new method of genetically modifying the Marek’s disease vaccine so that it is able to protect against another destructive poultry virus called infectious bursal disease (IBD), and potentially others such as avian influenza and Newcastle disease…

The Pirbright Institute’s Dr Pip Beard has been awarded funding to study lumpy skin disease (LSD), a severe viral disease of cattle which is found throughout Africa and the Middle East. Little is known about the LSD virus, so the award will be used to answer fundamental questions about the…

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have identified a new type of immune cell in chickens that is involved in the development of Marek’s disease. Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is highly contagious and causes a deadly cancer of the lymph nodes (lymphoma) and immunosuppression in poultry, making birds…