October 22, 2025

Gene-editing pigs resistant to classical swine fever

Researchers have created pigs that are resistant to classical swine fever (CSF), a highly infectious and often fatal disease that poses a major threat to pig farming worldwide.

While CSF is not currently present in the UK, it continues to cause severe outbreaks in parts of the world, with major economic consequences for farmers. Existing vaccines can reduce transmission, but controlling the disease remains difficult due to its persistence and ability to spread between species.

This new research, published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology, offers a promising route to bolstering disease resilience in livestock and could potentially be applied to other livestock species to guard against related viruses.

Journalists came along to this press briefing to hear the authors of this study discuss their work and its implications.

Speakers included:

Dr Simon Lillico, Research Fellow at The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh

Dr Christine Tait- Burkard, Group leader at The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh

Dr Helen Crooke, Head of Swine Fever and Pestivirus Research, Animal and Plant Health agency (APHA)

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of comments.