Pirbright to work on ASF vaccine for wild boar
9th Jul 2018 / By Alistair Driver
The Pirbright research institute has announced new funding for research into new ways to protect pigs from African swine fever, including a vaccine for wild boar.
Scientists from The Pirbright Institute are spearheading a consortium of 31 members, which has been awarded €5.6 million by the European Union Horizon 2020 programme to study two viral diseases that are becoming growing threats in Europe; African swine fever (ASF) and lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle.
The project, under the DEFEND banner, aims to control the growing ASF and LSD epidemics in Europe by understanding what drives outbreaks of these diseases, by generating research that allows the development of new diagnostic tools and vaccines, and by working closely with decision-makers to make appropriate and rapid responses.
The consortium partners include academia, government and industry, and come from 21 countries across Europe as well as Russia, Canada, Israel, Azerbaijan, South Africa and Australia.
Pirbright contributors include Dr Chris Netherton, who will be developing an ASF vaccine for wild boar and backyard pigs.
For more on this story, see Pig World