Conference Highlights Research into Animal Virology

The University of Surrey hosted Pirbright Institute’s Centenary Conference last month, an event which marked the Institute’s 100^th anniversary of research into prevention and control of livestock infectious diseases. Visitors were also able to tour the Institute’s new high biocontainment laboratory facility, the BBSRC National Virology Centre: The Plowright Building, which provides the UK with a national capability to support research and surveillance of high consequence viral diseases.

Institute Director Professor John Fazakerley said: “The Pirbright Institute has been prominently involved in research to prevent and control infectious diseases of livestock since 1914 when the first cattle testing station was established to combat tuberculosis. There have been many achievements along the decades and, a hundred years on, the Institute is a world-leading centre of excellence for surveillance and research to prevent and control virus diseases of livestock and viruses that spread from animals to people.”

Amongst other presentations Professor Adrian Hill from the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, spoke about the emergency vaccine being developed by his team to combat the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa.  The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Professor Nigel Gibbens, provided an overview of infectious disease threats to UK livestock. Professor Ab Osterhaus from the Ersasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam highlighted potential threat of existing and new strains of influenza virus and Dr Keith Sumption from the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) outlined the current global distribution and control of foot-and-mouth disease.

Dr Don King, Head of the World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease at Pirbright emphasised the Institute’s vital work in a number of important diseases of livestock, poultry and humans, including foot-and-mouth disease, bluetongue, human and bovine respiratory disease, chikungunya, avian leukosis and Marek’s disease.