Our research focuses on viruses that are potentially devastating for the economy, food security and the wellbeing of animals and humans. These include diseases like foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue, which affect certain livestock, and zoonotic viruses like avian and swine influenza that can spread from animals to humans.
The list below contains the main viruses we work on. Each page gives details about the family the virus belongs to and the diseases associated with that virus. For example bluetongue virus (BTV), African horse sickness (AHS) and epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) all belong to the Reoviridae family, and SARS-CoV-2 (the cause of COVID-19) and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) are within the coronavirus family (Coronaviridae).
The human rhinoviruses (HRVs) infect the cells in the human respiratory system. They are among the smallest types of virus and there are over 100 recognised serotypes. HRVs belong to the genus
Enterovirus of the
Picornaviridae family and are...
Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is a highly infectious avian pathogen which affects the respiratory tract, gut, kidney and reproductive systems. It belongs to the
Coronavirus family, genus
Gammacoronavirus which has a single stranded RNA genome, surrounded by a nucleocapsid...
Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) infects both domestic and wild birds, and targets the immune system tissues. This results in immunosuppression, leaving infected chickens open to other infections such as
E. coli ,
Salmonella and
Mycoplasma . IBDV belongs...
Influenza viruses (commonly known as flu) infect a wide range of hosts, including humans and swine, but the natural reservoir lies in populations of wild aquatic birds such as ducks and shorebirds. Influenza viruses are members of the family
Orthmyxoviridae...
Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) is a poxvirus within the genus
Capripoxvirus . It is genetically very similar to the other two
Capripoxvirus species Sheeppox virus and Goatpox virus . LSDV causes lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle and...
Marek’s disease virus (MDV) infects poultry. It is a member of the
Herpesviridae family, in the genus
Mardivirus and it can be divided into pathotypes that are dependent on virulence: mild (m), virulent (v), very virulent (vv), and...
Nairobi sheep disease virus (NSDV) infects sheep and goats and is transmitted by ticks. The virus belongs to the family
Bunyaviridae , in the genus
Nairovirus . NSDV has a single-stranded RNA genome, that is surrounded by a capsid and...
The Newcastle disease virus (NDV) infects domestic and wild birds, having been described in at least 241 species. NDV is an enveloped, single stranded RNA virus within the family of
Paramyxoviridae , genus
Avulavirus . There are ten serotypes of...
Nipah virus (NiV) is a newly emerging zoonotic infectious disease. The natural hosts of the virus are fruit bats of the
Pteropodidae family,
Pteropus genus, however pigs act as the amplifying host for the virus, meaning it can...
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR), also known as goat plague, is highly contagious and infects small ruminants such as sheep and goats as well as a number of wild small ruminants, such as ibex and gazelles. Cattle and pigs can...
Poliovirus (PV) infects humans and is highly infectious. It belongs to the genus
Enterovirus , under the family
Picornaviridae . There are three serotypes; PV1, PV2, and PV3, but PV1 is the most common serotype. PV has a single...
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infects domestic pigs. It belongs to the family
Arteriviridae, genus
Porartevirus and there are two species – 1 (European) and 2 (North American). Highly pathogenic strains of the North American genotype...
Pages
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