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Culex pipiens adult mosquito pirbright institute

23 October 2025

Pirbright researchers help uncover origins of London Underground mosquito

Institute fieldwork informs evolutionary biology study into Culex pipiens Research by scientists at The Pirbright Institute has supported an international study disproving the theory that London Underground mosquitoes – Culex pipiens form molestus - evolved in urban subways and cellars in northern…

20 October 2025

Pirbright contributes £50m a year to UK economy

A new report highlights how The Pirbright Institute contributes £50m a year to the UK economy. Commissioned by Pirbright and carried out by public policy analysts SQW, the evaluation shows this equates to a Gross Value Added (GVA) economic impact of £471m over the past decade. The Institute is a…

Latest news

17 December 2024

Research offers hope for future African swine fever vaccine

Scientists have gained new insights into African swine fever virus (ASFV), a deadly pathogen that causes major losses in global pig farming and threatens global food security. A study, led by The Pirbright Institute and published today in mBio, uses a novel strategy to make a modified live vaccine…

Bryan Charleston and Zheng Haixue at a purple table holding a pen with papers in front of them

Pirbright signs MoU with China’s agricultural research institute

The Pirbright Institute has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). The agreement builds on existing collaborations between Pirbright and China’s national agricultural research institutes and universities. Established in 1957 and headquartered…

Advancing African swine fever virus (ASFV) vaccines

In an effort to combat the devastating impact of African swine fever (ASF) on global food security, Pirbright researchers have secured funding from the Medical Research Council to assess the cross-protection potential of modified live vaccines (MLV) against diverse ASF virus (ASFV) strains in Africa…

African swine fever – what is the current situation?

African swine fever is a highly contagious disease caused by the African swine fever virus. It infects both domestic and wild pigs and has a case fatality rate of up to 100%. There have been outbreaks in Europe in recent years, with the latest near the French border in Germany, bringing this disease…

A black outline of a pig on a background that shows red ASF virus particles

Pirbright twins with Philippines to improve African swine fever control

On 10 June 2021, experts at The Pirbright Institute kicked off a new World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) twinning project with the Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory, part of the Bureau of Animal Industry’s Veterinary Laboratory Division (BAI- VLD- ADDRL) in the Philippines…

A pig in straw and a calf running in a field

Pirbright scientists will progress pig and cattle health through two projects worth €3.5 million

Two projects coordinated by researchers at The Pirbright Institute designed to improve pig and cattle health have been successfully fully funded with a total of €3.5 million. The research aims to tackle three important livestock viruses – bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) in cattle, and…

Female pig in hay inside

Pirbright African swine fever vaccine protects 100% of pigs from developing severe disease

Scientists from The Pirbright Institute are a step closer in the race to develop a vital vaccine for African swine fever (ASF). In their recent trial, published in Vaccines, 100 percent of pigs immunised with the new vaccine survived a lethal dose of ASF virus. ASF causes fever, loss of appetite…

RNA polymerase transcribes RNA from DNA.

20 February 2020

Pirbright and UCL scientists map African swine fever genome

Scientists from The Pirbright Institute have worked with UCL to map the expression of genes across the entire African swine fever virus (ASFV) genome, which has helped to establish their order of activation as well as uncovering new genes. The research could provide vital information for those…

22 January 2020

Scientists working on pig and poultry diseases visit Pirbright

On 15 January 2020 The Pirbright Institute hosted Newton Fund Swine and Poultry Research Initiative delegates from the UK, China, Thailand and the Philippines. The projects funded through the initiative have been underway for almost two years and the meeting served as part of a midway point workshop…

pigs sleeping ASF african swine fever Pirbright

How Pirbright is working to protect our pigs against African swine fever and what you can do to help

African swine fever (ASF) is a deadly disease of pigs and wild boar, it does not affect people. ASF is currently threatening the world’s pig population. Separate outbreaks are decimating pig herds across Africa, Europe and Asia, with official figures from the the Food and Agriculture Organization of…

A cell infected by African swine fever virus

Pirbright study identifies African swine fever virus proteins for vaccine development

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have identified African swine fever virus (ASFV) proteins that can trigger an immune response in pigs. The team hopes to develop a vaccine using these proteins that is capable of protecting against the deadly disease. Published in Frontiers in Immunology, the…

Pig head tongue pirbright

Pirbright and ViroVet join forces to develop African swine fever antivirals

Researchers at The Pirbright Institute will partner with the Belgian biotechnology company ViroVet to develop the first antiviral drugs that act against African swine fever (ASF). In the absence of a vaccine, antiviral drugs could provide an alternative control method which would help limit clinical…