News

As many as 125,000 cervids have been tested at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute since the first wild reindeer was diagnosed with Chronic Wasting Disease - CWD in 2016. The samples come from cervids that were hunted, as well as those found sick or injured in traffic, and testing is an important part of monitoring CWD in Norway.

People can contract diseases caused by pathogens found in both animals and the environment. Pandemics seem to be getting more frequent. Why? Moreover, can new pandemics be avoided? These were some of the topics that the Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food, Olaug Bollestad heard about, and discussed, in a meeting with Carlos das Neves, Director of research and internationalization at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute and President of the Wildlife Disease Association (WDA), at a meeting on March 11th.

The date for relocating the headquarters of the Norwegian Veterinary Institute is approaching. The Institute expects to move from Adamstua in Oslo to its brand new high tech and modern building at Ås by May 2021. Before the Institute can move, equipment, buildings and procedures for laboratories have to be tested. In this short video, you get a glimpse of how this testing is being done.

15 new research proposals have been granted financial support during December 2020. These are all relevant research projects either led by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute or NVI participating as a partner. The overall budget to cover the contribution of the NVI is approx. 50 million NOK.

By inoculating mice with the prion strains found in cervids in Norway, a group of researchers has found that these are not identical to strains found in cervids in North America. These findings can be of great importance for how to manage the disease in cervids in Norway.

As cases surge globally and disruption continues, many questions remain about COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind this pandemic. Where did it come from, how did it escape our control, and how can we stop future pandemics like COVID-19? These questions will be the focus of an international taskforce that is part of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission.

Experts gathered by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) warn in a report launched on 29 October 2020 that there may be more and worse pandemics than covid-19 in the future. The experts give advice on how we can both reduce and manage the risk of new and worse crises.

On Thursday evening 10th of September, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute notified the Norwegian Food Safety Authority of a confirmed case of CWD in a wild reindeer shot during the ordinary hunt on the Hardanger plateau in central southern Norway. Material from a lymph node tested positive, while brain tissue was negative.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will arrange between 27-31st July, a workshop on biodiversity and pandemics in light of the recent and ongoing corona outbreak. Carlos das Neves from the Norwegian Veterinary Institute has been appointed as a participant and contributor to the workshop and the subsequent report. IPBES is the intergovernmental body, which assesses the state of biodiversity, and of the ecosystem services it provides to society, in response to requests from decision makers.

The Norwegian Veterinary Institute has contributed to an overall expert opinion on covid-19 and fish, in addition to other animals that live in water.