Press releases

The Pirbright Institute has received an award worth up to $2.6 million to develop proof-of-concept tools that could prevent mosquitoes from transmitting a broad range of viruses. The project forms part of DARPA’s Preventing Emerging Pathogenic Threats (PREEMPT) programme, which aims to predict and contain viral mutations to prevent cross-species transmission of viral infectious disease from animals and insects to humans. 

Research led by The Pirbright Institute has shown mutant H9N2 bird flu viruses isolated from Pakistan are able to escape immune responses and adapt to infect humans. This could result in reduced vaccine efficiency and the possibility of human outbreaks.

Scientists from The Pirbright Institute have used a ground-breaking approach to show how a morbillivirus that causes disease in small ruminants such as sheep and goats, known as small ruminant morbillivirus (a close relative of measles virus – the human morbillivirus), could, through minor changes in a particular protein, overcome barriers that currently prevent it from entering human cells.

For the first time, scientists at The Pirbright Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute have been able to generate and build a complete Culicoides biting midge genome. These flies are not only an annoying biting nuisance for those visiting or living in Scotland, but also transmit a range of important animal viruses on UK farms including bluetongue virus.