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Pirbright Institute

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The Pirbright Institute
Formation1987; 36 years ago (1987)
Legal statusGovernment-funded research institute (registered charity)
PurposeFarm animal health and diseases in the UK
Location
Region served
United Kingdom
Membership
Around 350 staff - half researchers, half operations
Director
Dr Bryan Charleston
Parent organization
BBSRC
AffiliationsDEFRA
Budget
c. £30 million
Websitewww.pirbright.ac.uk
Formerly called
Institute for Animal Health

The Pirbright Institute (formerly the Institute for Animal Health) is a research institute in Surrey, England, dedicated to the study of infectious diseases of farm animals. It forms part of the UK government's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The institute employs scientists, vets, PhD students and operations staff.

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Research institute

Research institute

A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural science research, there are also many research institutes in the social science as well, especially for sociological and historical research purposes.

Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, to the southwest of Greater London. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. With a population of approximately 1.2 million people, Surrey is the 12th-most populous county in England. The most populated town in Surrey is Woking, followed by Guildford.

Livestock

Livestock

Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals who are raised for consumption, and sometimes used to refer solely to farmed ruminants, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Horses are considered livestock in the United States. The USDA classifies pork, veal, beef, and lamb (mutton) as livestock, and all livestock as red meat. Poultry and fish are not included in the category. The latter is likely due to the fact that fish products are not governed by the USDA, but by the FDA.

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds scientific research institutes and university research departments in the UK.

History

It began in 1914 to test cows for tuberculosis. More buildings were added in 1925. Compton was established by the Agricultural Research Council in 1937. Pirbright became a research institute in 1939 and Compton in 1942. The Houghton Poultry Research Station at Houghton, Cambridgeshire was established in 1948. In 1963 Pirbright became the Animal Virus Research Institute and Compton became the Institute for Research on Animal Diseases. The Neuropathogenesis Unit (NPU) was established in Edinburgh in 1981. This became part of the Roslin Institute in 2007.

In 1987, Compton, Houghton and Pirbright became the Institute for Animal Health, being funded by BBSRC. Houghton closed in 1992, operations at Compton are being rapidly wound down with the site due to close in 2015.

The Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research was sited at Compton until October 2005.

Significant investment (over £170 million) is taking place at Pirbright with the development of new world-class laboratory and animal facilities. The institute has been known as "The Pirbright Institute" since October 2012.

On 14 June 2019 the largest stock of the rinderpest virus was destroyed at the Pirbright Institute.[1]

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Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. Around 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. It was historically referred to as consumption due to the weight loss associated with the disease. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms.

Houghton, Cambridgeshire

Houghton, Cambridgeshire

Houghton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Houghton and Wyton, in Cambridgeshire, England, approximately 3 miles (5 km) east of Huntingdon on the A1123 road, and south of RAF Wyton. It lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, by Houghton Mill.

Roslin Institute

Roslin Institute

The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research

Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research

The Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research (EJIVR) was an independent research institute named after Edward Jenner, the inventor of vaccination. It was co-located with the Compton Laboratory of the Institute for Animal Health on a campus in the village of Compton in Berkshire, England. After occupying temporary laboratory space at the Institute for Animal Health from 1996, the Institute moved to a newly completed laboratory building in 1998. Funding of the Institute continued until October 2005 when it was closed.

Rinderpest

Rinderpest

Rinderpest was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wildebeests, and warthogs. The disease was characterized by fever, oral erosions, diarrhea, lymphoid necrosis, and high mortality. Death rates during outbreaks were usually extremely high, approaching 100% in immunologically naïve populations. Rinderpest was mainly transmitted by direct contact and by drinking contaminated water, although it could also be transmitted by air. After a global eradication campaign starting in the mid-20th century, the last confirmed case of rinderpest was diagnosed in 2001.

Directors of note

Structure

The work previously carried out at Compton has either moved out to the university sector, ended or has been transferred to the Pirbright site. The Compton site currently carries out work on endemic (commonplace) animal diseases including some avian viruses and a small amount of bovine immunology whilst Pirbright works on exotic (unusual) animal diseases (usually caused by virus outbreaks). Pirbright has national and international reference laboratories of diseases. It is a biosafety level 4 laboratories (commonly referred to as "P4" or BSL-4).

Funding

25% of its income comes from a core grant from the BBSRC of around £11m. Around 50% comes from research grants from related government organisations, such as DEFRA, or industry and charities (such as the Wellcome Trust). The remaining 25% comes from direct payments for work carried out.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided funding to the institute for research into veterinary infectious diseases and universal flu vaccine development.[3][4]

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Endemic (epidemiology)

Endemic (epidemiology)

In epidemiology, an infection is said to be endemic in a specific population or populated place when that infection is constantly maintained at a baseline level without extra infections being brought into the group as a result of travel or similar means. An endemic disease always has a steady, predictable number of people getting sick, but that number can be high (hyperendemic) or low (hypoendemic), and the disease can be severe or mild. Also, a disease that is usually endemic can become epidemic.

Biosafety level

Biosafety level

A biosafety level (BSL), or pathogen/protection level, is a set of biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed laboratory facility. The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) to the highest at level 4 (BSL-4). In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have specified these levels. In the European Union, the same biosafety levels are defined in a directive. In Canada the four levels are known as Containment Levels. Facilities with these designations are also sometimes given as P1 through P4, as in the term P3 laboratory.

Wellcome Trust

Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome to fund research to improve human and animal health. The aim of the Trust is to "support science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone." It had a financial endowment of £29.1 billion in 2020, making it the fourth wealthiest charitable foundation in the world. In 2012, the Wellcome Trust was described by the Financial Times as the United Kingdom's largest provider of non-governmental funding for scientific research, and one of the largest providers in the world. According to their annual report, the Wellcome Trust spent GBP £1.1Bn on charitable activities across their 2019/2020 financial year. According to the OECD, the Wellcome Trust's financing for 2019 development increased by 22% to US$327 million.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported as of 2020 to be the second largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $49.8 billion in assets. On his 43rd birthday, Bill Gates gave the foundation $1 billion. The primary stated goals of the foundation are to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty across the world, and to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology in the U.S. Key individuals of the foundation include Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, Warren Buffett, chief executive officer Mark Suzman, and Michael Larson.

Universal flu vaccine

Universal flu vaccine

A universal flu vaccine is a flu vaccine that is effective against all influenza strains regardless of the virus sub type, antigenic drift or antigenic shift. Hence it should not require modification from year to year. As of 2021 no universal flu vaccine had been approved for general use, several were in development, and one was in clinical trial.

Function

The Pirbright Institute carries out research, diagnostics and surveillance viruses carried by animals, such as foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), African swine fever, bluetongue, lumpy skin disease and avian and swine flu farm animals. Understanding of viruses comes from molecular biology.

It carries out surveillance activities on farm animal health and disease movement in the UK.

Services

Location

The institute had two sites at:

  • Compton in Berkshire – closed in early 2016 and services relocated to Pirbright where new facilities had been constructed.
  • Pirbright in Surrey – shared with commercial company Merial

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Compton, Berkshire

Compton, Berkshire

Compton is a village and civil parish in the River Pang valley in the Berkshire Downs about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Didcot.

Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. The county town is Reading.

Pirbright

Pirbright

Pirbright is a village in Surrey, England. Pirbright is in the borough of Guildford and has a civil parish council covering the traditional boundaries of the area. Pirbright contains one buffered sub-locality, Stanford Common near the nation's farm animal disease research institute. The village's grade II* listed medieval church has a large Boulder grave for explorer Henry Morton Stanley. The nearby Hodge Brook is marked as Congo Stream, between Ruwenzori and Stanley Hills.

Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, to the southwest of Greater London. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. With a population of approximately 1.2 million people, Surrey is the 12th-most populous county in England. The most populated town in Surrey is Woking, followed by Guildford.

Source: "Pirbright Institute", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 1st), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirbright_Institute.

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Further Reading

Pirbright

Swine influenza

Influenza pandemic

Influenza Genome Sequencing Project

GISAID

2007 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak

Foot-and-mouth disease

Pandemic H1N1/09 virus

James E. Collins
See also
References
  1. ^ "Killer virus destroyed by UK lab". 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  2. ^ Sellers, R. F. (2007). "John Burns Brooksby CBE" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 53: 77–92. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2007.0002. PMID 18543463. S2CID 73052383.
  3. ^ Brown, Matthew (17 June 2020). "Fact check: Neither Pirbright Institute nor Bill Gates owns novel coronavirus patent". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Fact check: Pirbright Institute does not have patent for a COVID-19 vaccine". Reuters. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
External links

Coordinates: 51°16′47″N 0°38′06″W / 51.2797°N 0.6349°W / 51.2797; -0.6349

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