Bluetongue virus: knocking at the door.

The big animal health story in the newspapers in the UK this summer has been the return, after 6 years, of foot and mouth disease. The outbreak was almost certainly caused by the escape of the virus from the virology research laboratory in Pirbright, Surrey. It seemed as if the outbreak had been contained quickly…
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Biosecurity: who will guard the guardians?

The recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in UK, possibly from a neighbouring laboratory working on vaccines for the disease, has raised the question of biosecurity in micro-organism research and the risks to the health of people, animals and plants. The Initial report on potential breaches of biosecurity at the Pirbright site 2007, by…
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Foot and mouth: back again?

As soon as I heard the news on Saturday (4 August) that foot and mouth disease had returned to the UK, being found in a herd of cattle near to Guilford, I thought “That’s suspiciously close to the Pirbright Laboratory.” The Institute of Animal Health (IAH) has for a long time been a world centre…
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