Pirbright Institute
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Formation | 1987 |
---|---|
Legal status | Government-funded research institute (registered charity) |
Purpose | Farm 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 |
Affiliations | DEFRA |
Budget | c. £30 million |
Website | www |
Formerly called | Institute for Animal Health |
The Pirbright Institute (formerly the Institute for Animal Health) is a
History
It began in 1914 to test cows for
In 1987, Compton, Houghton and Pirbright became the Institute for Animal Health, being funded by BBSRC. Houghton closed in 1992, operations at Compton ended in 2015.[1][2] The Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research was sited at Compton until October 2005, when it merged with the vaccine programmes of the University of Oxford and the Institute for Animal Health.[3]
The Pirbright site was implicated in the
Significant investment (over £170 million) took 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.[5]
Directors of note
- Dr John Burns Brooksby 1964 until 1980[6]
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.[citation needed]
The
Function
The Pirbright Institute carries out research, diagnostics and surveillance of
It carries out surveillance activities on farm animal health and disease movement in the UK.
Services
- Arthropod supplies
- Diagnostics & Surveillance
- Disinfectant testing
- Flow cytometry & cell sorting
- Products - Includes positive sera, inactived antigens, diagnostic kits, viral cultures and live midges.
- Training courses
Location
The institute had two sites:
- Compton in Berkshire – closed in August 2015 with services relocated to new facilities at Pirbright.[1]
- Merial
See also
- 2007 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak
- World Organisation for Animal Health
- Bluetongue disease
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency (now part of the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency)
- Animal Health (now part of the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency)
- Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency(an Executive Agency of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
References
- ^ a b "Pirbright Institute in Compton village to close". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 26 February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ William Walker (26 June 2015). "Compton animal testing site to move out in August". Newbury Today. Newbury News and Media. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Jenner Vaccine Institute expands to link with Oxford University and Institute for Animal Health". eFeedLink.com. 28 October 2005. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
The Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research would move into a new era on November 1, 2005, merging with the vaccine programmes of the University of Oxford and the Institute for Animal Health (IAH). It would be led by Professor Adrian Hill, and would focus on human vaccine development at Oxford University and veterinary vaccines at the IAH.
- ^ "Initial report on potential breaches to biosecurity at the Pirbright site, 2007". Health and Safety Executive. 7 August 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Killer virus destroyed by UK lab". 14 June 2019. Archived from the original on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- S2CID 73052383.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Fact check: Pirbright Institute does not have patent for a COVID-19 vaccine". Reuters. 6 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ "Our major stakeholders". Pirbright Institute. 7 May 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ "Our mission & values". Pirbright Institute. 12 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.