New funding for vector-borne disease research
One of the projects will look at the transmission pathways of moquito-borne viruses.
The UK Government has provided the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) with an additional £2.35 million to fund new research projects into vector-borne diseases.
Four new research projects will launch, investigating topics including the monitoring and controlling of tick-borne diseases, the transmission pathways of mosquito-borne viruses, and how to minimise risks of tick-borne diseases from rewilding and reforestation.
Vector-borne diseases cause more than 700,000 deaths each year globally and account for more than 17 per cent of all infectious diseases.
The projects, which align with APHA’s One Health approach, will provide evidence to help the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Scottish and Welsh governments develop policies to address threats to public and animal health.
One of the projects to be funded is TickTools, a three-year project to develop tools to monitor and control tick-borne diseases. The project, which will involve researchers from the University of Nottingham and the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow, will investigate tick/host interactions, improved vaccines, and diagnostic methods to detect infection.
Another of the projects, Vector-Borne RADAR (Real-time Arbovirus Detection And Response), aims to improve understanding of how mosquito-borne viruses emerge in new environments, enhance the surveillance of diseases in the UK wild bird population, and develop an early warning system for disease outbreaks. It will bring together experts from the UK Health Security Agency, Institute of Zoology and the British Trust for Ornithology.
Professor Gideon Henderson, Defra chief scientific advisor, said: “The funding for this important research, which brings together a wealth of expertise from some of the best scientific institutions in the UK, will continue to build and prepare the UK for the emergence of endemic and exotic vector-borne diseases.
“This coordinated scientific effort forms part of the UK’s commitment to work at the interface between environmental, human and animal health to improve outcomes for all.”
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