Scientists celebrate double grant success to help tackle global food security
| Scientists at one of the world’s leading animal health research institutes are celebrating after being awarded grants totalling over £1 million to investigate two of the most prevalent, damaging and costly diseases of livestock worldwide. Parasitic worms are a major cause of production loss among sheep and goats in sub-tropical regions of India and Africa and Malignant Catarrhal fever is a fatal viral disease of cattle in Africa. Over the next three years animal scientists at Moredun Research Institute, based at Pentlands Science Park in Midlothian, will work with researchers around the world to develop practical and sustainable solutions to the challenges posed by these livestock diseases in developing countries. The first project involves Moredun scientists applying their existing knowledge about parasitic worm control in sheep and goats to situations in other parts of the world where these worms are also a major cause of production loss. Parasitic gut worm infections are conventionally controlled using drugs, but these are expensive for smallholder farmers in developing countries and increasingly worms are becoming resistant to these drugs. Researchers from Moredun will work in partnership with scientists in Bristol, Canada, India and South Africa to develop new ways for farmers to control parasitic worms in their animals and therefore safeguard their food security. The second project involves the testing of a vaccine for malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) which is a major concern to maasai farmers in Africa who rely on cattle for their economic and social welfare. MCF is a viral disease of many cloven hoofed animals. There is a wildebeest form of the virus that causes no harm to the wildebeest but causes a fatal disease in the cattle that graze alongside them on the African plains. Working with partners in Glasgow, Nottingham and Tanzania, Moredun researchers will test a potential MCF vaccine they have helped develop under field conditions in Tanzania. The above projects are two of sixteen that have been funded by a new £13 million initiative launched by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Department for International development (DFID) and the Scottish Government to help support farmers and families in developing countries. It is hoped that this new funding will help scientists reduce the devastating effect livestock disease can have on global food security and livelihoods. More than 900 million people in the developing world live below the poverty line in rural areas. Just one animal can meet a whole family's needs, but deadly and debilitating livestock diseases can jeopardise food security for these people and lead them into greater poverty. Moredun Research Institute is one of the top ten animal research institutes worldwide and its researchers are keen to work with collaborators to help find answers to global livestock problems. Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, Scientific Director of Moredun welcomed this initiative. She commented: ‘Moredun is delighted to have the opportunity to work with partners in overseas institutes in order to help develop practical and sustainable solutions to the challenges posed by livestock diseases in developing countries.‘ Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs for the Scottish Government, said: ‘We are proud that our world class science base in animal health is helping to address such important global issues. The challenges are immense but by working together we can make a real difference to the long term prospects and wellbeing of communities throughout the world.’ Tuesday, 23rd February 2010 |