Bluetongue
IAH is a member of the Joint Campaign Against Bluetongue (JAB). Our scientists have contributed to a
number of videos,
available online
, that explain the background to bluetongue in Britain, and the
vaccine campaign against it.
Bluetongue was very recently a major cause of concern for British livestock farmers. It is also a major topic
of research within IAH, covering several aspects: the causative virus; the midges that spread the virus;
the weather that affects spread; the disease itself; vaccine development. This research is within our
Arbovirology Programme, so-called because the scientists within it study viruses that are arthropod-borne.
Scientists of the Institute also form the Bluetongue Reference Laboratory, which performs diagnostic tests
on behalf of Defra, the European Union, and the World Organisation for Animal Health.
For details of the research within the Arbovirology Programme,
click here
. How we responded, and continue to respond, to bluetongue in Britain is described in a number of our
archived News items.