Publications

The Pirbright Institute publication directory contains details of selected publications written by our researchers.

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Abstract

Pakistan at present is having more than 60 million head of goats, which consist of about 37 well-recognized breeds found in different regions of the country. Although the goat farming on commercial level is escalating in Pakistan, there are threats, which result this initiative into a loss. Among these threats, Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) outbreaks are causing huge economic damages. In this study, three outbreaks of PPR were confirmed at three different commercial farms in various regions of Punjab province and their economic impact on small ruminants farming was calculated. The disease started after 1–2 months of the establishment of these farms as the animals were purchased from different livestock markets. Disease started with sudden onset of respiratory and enteric clinical signs and spreads quickly. Disease caused mortality and morbidity of 10–15% and 20–40%, respectively, within a time period of 01–03 weeks. At these three farms, 116 of 365 animals exhibited the clinical disease, with an overall morbidity rate of 31.78%. A total of 43 animals died with mortality rate of 11.78% (43/365) causing a direct financial loss of $4300 (Pakistan Rupees 430 000/-), while the indirect cost due to treatment, loss of animal body condition, reduction in market value, increase veterinary services and labour was $7911 (Pak Rs. 791 100/-). Taken together, the results demonstrate that there is an urgent need to assess the economic impact of the disease throughout the country and to give proper emphasis for controlling PPR in sensitive regions where it is discouraging the investment in goat farming.

Abstract

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses is a committee of Virology Division of the International Union of Microbiological Societies, and its operation is governed by Statutes agreed with Virology Division. The classification and nomenclature of viruses is then subject to rules formalized into a Code (required by Statute 8.1). The need for a review of the Statutes and Code became clear during editorial work involved in production of the Ninth ICTV Report. Changes to these documents require the approval of the ICTV Executive Committee (EC) and the full ICTV membership. Changes to the Statutes also require the agreement of Virology Division. The changes to the Statutes described in this article were discussed and agreed by the ICTV EC over a period of more than two years. Many of these changes are relatively minor adaptations and clarifications. Notification of a ballot was sent to the 165 members of ICTV. Members were then requested to vote on whether or not to ratify the proposals. The return rate of votes was approximately 41 %, and all proposed changes were accepted unanimously. The proposed changes to the Statutes were then submitted to Virology Division and were approved unanimously by the Advisory Board and Executive Committee on 19 April 2013. In this article, we present the new version of the Statutes, highlighted in bold to show those parts that have recently been changed. Those changes are then explained in the sections that follow. The changes to the Code are the subject of a separate article.
Aklilu N, Batten C, Gelaye E, Jenberie S, Ayelet G, Wilson A, Belay A, Asfaw Y, Oura C, Maan S, Bachanek-Bankowska K, Mertens P P C (2014)

African horse sickness outbreaks caused by multiple virus types in Ethiopia

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 61 (2), 185-192

Abstract

African horse sickness (AHS) is associated with high morbidity and mortality in equids, especially horses. A retrospective analysis was carried out concerning 737 AHS outbreaks that occurred during 2007–2010 in Ethiopia. A total of ten outbreaks were investigated in the study period. All four forms of the disease (pulmonary, cardiac, horse sickness fever and the combined form) were observed, with the cardiac form being the most prevalent. Multiple African horse sickness virus serotypes (AHSV-2, AHSV-4, AHSV-6, AHSV-8 and AHSV-9) were detected by molecular methods (type-specific real-time RT-PCR assays), and fourteen isolates were derived from blood and tissue samples collected during 2009–2010. This is the first report of AHSV-4, AHSV-6 or AHSV-8 in Ethiopia.

Abstract

African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is an arthropod-borne pathogen that infects all species of equidae and causes high mortality in horses. Previously, a recombinant modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus expressing the protein VP2 of AHSV serotype 4 was shown to induce virus neutralising antibodies in horses and protected interferon alpha receptor gene knock-out mice (IFNAR -/-) against virulent AHSV challenge. This study builds on the previous work, examining the protective efficacy of MVA-VP2 vaccination in the natural host of AHSV infection. A study group of 4 horses was vaccinated twice with a recombinant MVA virus expressing the major capsid protein (VP2) of AHSV serotype 9. Vaccinated animals and a control group of unvaccinated horses were then challenged with a virulent strain of AHSV-9. The vaccinated animals were completely protected against clinical disease and also against viraemia as measured by standard end-point dilution assays. In contrast, all control horses presented viraemia after challenge and succumbed to the infection. These results demonstrate the potential of recombinant MVA viruses expressing the outer capsid VP2 of AHSV as a protective vaccine against AHSV infection in the field.

Abstract

Genetics can potentially provide new, species-specific, environmentally friendly methods for mosquito control. Genetic control strategies aim either to suppress target populations or to introduce a harm-reducing novel trait. Different approaches differ considerably in their properties, especially between self-limiting strategies, where the modification has limited persistence, and self-sustaining strategies, which are intended to persist indefinitely in the target population and may invade other populations. Several methods with different molecular biology are under development and the first field trials have been completed successfully.

Abstract

Background: Ticks represent a significant health risk to animals and humans due to the variety of pathogens they can transmit during feeding. The traditional use of chemicals to control ticks has serious drawbacks, including the selection of acaricide-resistant ticks and environmental contamination with chemical residues. Vaccination with the tick midgut antigen BM86 was shown to be a good alternative for cattle tick control. However, results vary considerably between tick species and geographic location. Therefore, new antigens are required for the development of vaccines controlling both tick infestations and pathogen infection/transmission. Tick proteins involved in tick-pathogen interactions may provide good candidate protective antigens for these vaccines, but appropriate screening procedures are needed to select the best candidates. Methods: In this study, we selected proteins involved in tick-Anaplasma (Subolesin and SILK) and tick-Babesia (TROSPA) interactions and used in vitro capillary feeding to characterize their potential as antigens for the control of cattle tick infestations and infection with Anaplasma marginale and Babesia bigemina. Purified rabbit polyclonal antibodies were generated against recombinant SUB, SILK and TROSPA and added to uninfected or infected bovine blood to capillary-feed female Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus ticks. Tick weight, oviposition and pathogen DNA levels were determined in treated and control ticks. Results: The specificity of purified rabbit polyclonal antibodies against tick recombinant proteins was confirmed by Western blot and against native proteins in tick cell lines and tick tissues using immunofluorescence. Capillary-fed ticks ingested antibodies added to the blood meal and the effect of these antibodies on tick weight and oviposition was shown. However, no effect was observed on pathogen DNA levels. Conclusions: These results highlighted the advantages and some of the disadvantages of in vitro tick capillary feeding for the characterization of candidate tick protective antigens. While an effect on tick weight and oviposition was observed, the effect on pathogen levels was not evident probably due to high tick-to-tick variations among other factors. Nevertheless, these results together with previous results of RNA interference functional studies suggest that these proteins are good candidate vaccine antigens for the control of R. microplus infestations and infection with A. marginale and B. bigemina.
Ascough S, Ingram R J, Abarra A, Holmes A J, Maillere B, Altmann D M, Boyton R J (2014)

Injectional anthrax infection due to heroin use induces strong immunological memory

Journal of Infection 68 (2), 200-203
Ascough S, Ingram R J, Chu K K, Reynolds C J, Musson J A, Doganay M, Metan G, Ozkul Y, Baillie L, Sriskandan S, Moore S J, Gallagher T B, Dyson H, Williamson E D, Robinson J H, Maillere B, Boyton R J, Altmann D M (2014)

Anthrax lethal factor as an immune target in humans and transgenic mice and the impact of HLA polymorphism on CD4(+) T cell immunity

PLoS Pathogens 10 (5), e1004085

Abstract

Bacillus anthracis produces a binary toxin composed of protective antigen (PA) and one of two subunits, lethal factor (LF) or edema factor (EF). Most studies have concentrated on induction of toxin-specific antibodies as the correlate of protective immunity, in contrast to which understanding of cellular immunity to these toxins and its impact on infection is limited. We characterized CD4(+) T cell immunity to LF in a panel of humanized HLA-DR and DQ transgenic mice and in naturally exposed patients. As the variation in antigen presentation governed by HLA polymorphism has a major impact on protective immunity to specific epitopes, we examined relative binding affinities of LF peptides to purified HLA class II molecules, identifying those regions likely to be of broad applicability to human immune studies through their ability to bind multiple alleles. Transgenics differing only in their expression of human HLA class II alleles showed a marked hierarchy of immunity to LF. Immunogenicity in HLA transgenics was primarily restricted to epitopes from domains II and IV of LF and promiscuous, dominant epitopes, common to all HLA types, were identified in domain II. The relevance of this model was further demonstrated by the fact that a number of the immunodominant epitopes identified in mice were recognized by T cells from humans previously infected with cutaneous anthrax and from vaccinated individuals. The ability of the identified epitopes to confer protective immunity was demonstrated by lethal anthrax challenge of HLA transgenic mice immunized with a peptide subunit vaccine comprising the immunodominant epitopes that we identified.

Abstract

Five neutralizing antigenic sites have been described for serotype O foot-and-mouth disease viruses (FMDV) based on monoclonal antibody (mAb) escape mutant studies. However, a mutant virus selected to escape neutralization of mAb binding at all five sites was previously shown to confer complete cross-protection with the parental virus in guinea pig challenge studies, suggesting that amino acid residues outside of the mAb binding sites contribute to antibody-mediated in vivo neutralization of FMDV. Comparison of the ability of bovine antisera to neutralize a panel of serotype O FMDV identified three novel putative sites at VP2-74, VP2-191 and VP3-85, where amino acid substitutions correlated with changes in sero-reactivity. The impact of these positions was tested using site-directed mutagenesis to effect substitutions at critical amino acid residues within an infectious copy of FMDV O1 Kaufbeuren (O1K). Recovered viruses containing additional mutations at VP2-74 and VP2-191 exhibited greater resistance to neutralization with both O1K guinea pig and O BFS bovine antisera than a virus that was engineered to include only mutations at the five known antigenic sites. The changes at VP2-74 and VP3-85 are adjacent to critical amino acids that define antigenic sites 2 and 4, respectively. However VP2-191 (17A away from VP2-72), located at the 3-fold axis and more distant from previously identified antigenic sites exhibited the most profound effect. These findings extend our knowledge of the surface features of the FMDV capsid known to elicit neutralizing antibodies, and will improve our strategies for vaccine strain selection and rational vaccine design.

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