Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have received money which will enable research into boosting vaccine yields by up to ten fold. The funding was awarded by the Livestock Vaccine Innovation Fund which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), and Canada’s International Development Research Centre.
For the first time, researchers led by Professor Munir Iqbal at The Pirbright Institute have been able to insert protective avian influenza virus genes into the duck enteritis virus (DEV) vaccine by using a method of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing that allows higher rates of gene insertion. This makes the process more efficient and the resulting vaccine virus is able to protect ducks against both DEV and avian influenza.
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have collaborated with the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and other research institutes* to uncover a new system used by the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) to prevent antiviral signalling of infected cells. The discovery could allow scientists to detect animals that have been infected with FMDV and distinguish them from those that have been vaccinated.
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have played a key role in providing assurance that the UK remains free from bluetongue following the positive test results of four cattle which had moved from France into the north of England and Scotland in October 2017 without sufficient vaccination proof.
Researchers at The Pirbright Institute have developed a new method of genetically modifying the Marek’s disease vaccine so it is also able to protect against other destructive poultry viruses such as infectious bursal disease (IBD), avian influenza or Newcastle disease.
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. The virus’s ability to supress immune responses of birds is one of the reasons MDV is such a major threat to the poultry industry, as it prevents recovery and makes birds susceptible to secondary infections.
A brand new laboratory at The Pirbright Institute, opened earlier this year by HRH The Princess Royal, has scooped a prestigious design award at the Guildford Design Awards 2017. The awards, which take place every two years, were established in 1987 to celebrate well-designed, innovative architectural and environmental projects that contribute to the quality and sustainability of our surroundings.
In the last 15 years there has been a concerning increase in the spread of the livestock viral disease, peste des petits ruminants (PPR). The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have created a strategy for global eradication, in which the support of PPR experts, including scientists from The Pirbright Institute, will be essential.
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have found that deleting a gene of the African swine fever virus (ASFV), a severe and often fatal disease of pigs, reduces its ability to cause infection and protects against a strain of the virus that causes 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).
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