Culture Collection News

The UK has allocated up to £20 million in new funding to support efforts to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This funding will assist the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations, and international and non-governmental partners to respond rapidly by strengthening disease surveillance, supporting frontline healthcare workers, improving infection prevention and control measures, and ensuring affected communities can access lifesaving care. Most confirmed cases have been reported in the Ituri region, an area already facing significant humanitarian and security challenges.

Between January 2025 and June 2026, more than 850 peer‑reviewed articles cited the use of NCTC bacterial strains and whole‑genome sequences (WGS). This breadth of research highlights the wide use of NCTC resources and their potential impact across microbiology, infectious disease, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), genetics, agriculture, food, and environmental science. 

The European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC) supplies over 500 cancer cell lines for research, spanning carcinoma, lymphoma, sarcoma and leukaemia. These models represent a wide range of species, including human and rodent, and tissue types such as breast, colorectal, oesophageal, ovarian and bladder. 

In June 2025 UKHSA identified a Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain that produced a false‑negative result on the Cepheid Xpert® CT/NG test. The patient was successfully treated, and no onward transmission was identified. However, whole genome sequencing revealed the strain was missing both genetic targets required for detection by the assay, due to a recombination event with Neisseria meningitidis.

Oropouche virus (OROV) is a single stranded RNA virus classified as HG3 by ACDP, belonging to the Orthobunyavirus genus. It is an arthropod-born virus, with the main vector of transmission being Culicoides paraensis, a biting midge. First identified in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955 and subsequently considered epidemic in the Amazon basin, OROV is known to be associated with febrile illness and a range of other symptoms including fever, severe headaches and joint pains. 
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Since January 2025, more than 500 peer reviewed publications referenced the use of ECACC (European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures) cell lines, underlining their central role in high quality scientific research. As one of the world’s leading repositories of authenticated and quality-controlled cell lines, ECACC continues to provide the research community with reliable biological materials of know provenance, essential for reproducible science.

Three members of the UKHSA Culture Collections team, Meena Mangabhai (Customer Service), Emma Hobbs (Biosecurity/Safety) and Judith Parker (Business Development), took on the Great South Run on Sunday 19 October. Braving heavy rain, raising money for a cancer charity. 

The National Collection of Pathogenic Viruses (NCPV) is celebrating 25 years supporting scientific research. Over the last quarter of a century the collection has grown into an internationally recognised resource, playing a pivotal role in virology research and global outbreak preparedness. To celebrate this milestone, explore the NCPV timeline highlighting the key achievements from the past 25 years. 

NCPV viral deposits help shape future research. NCPV strives to have a broad range of viruses in its repository, of current and historical importance. we actively encourage viral desposis from acedemic and research scientists, to help grow our collection.

In 2025, NCTC scientists contributed to four publications. Highlights include two papers on microbial taxonomy in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, a publication in Access Microbiology detailing 101 new NCTC strains from 2023, and a collaborative genomic sequencing project, analysing the historic Murray Collection strains to compare plasmid sequences.

As the year draws to a close, I would like to reflect on what was a meaningful and inspirational year for Culture Collections. 

The National Collection of Pathogenic Viruses: A strategic resource for UK and global virology 

The National Collection of Pathogenic Viruses (NCPV) stands out as a distinctive resource in the global scientific community, as highlighted in this 25-year anniversary infographic.

During the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone in 2014-15, residual clinical specimens and accompanying data were collected from routine diagnostic testing in UKHSA led laboratories. Approximately 10,000 samples of which 1,440 are positive for Ebola have been transferred to UKHSA laboratories in the UK for curation.

Continuous cell lines remain widely used in biomedical research despite advances in alternative models. These ‘immortal’ cells, typically derived from tumors or virally transformed primary cells, offer numerous practical, financial, and ethical advantages over primary cell cultures. 

In tandem with the publication of the UKHSA priority pathogen families research and development (R&D) tool, Culture Collections have collated a selection of biological materials relevent to the pathogen families described therein.

At ECACC we are constantly striving to improve the range of cell lines in the collection to best reflect the needs of disease research. We actively encourage scientists and researchers, from academic and commercial organisations to deposit with us. This keeps the collection relevant and up to date for researchers looking to reduce the burden of diseases such as cancer and diabetes.  

DNA now available from 330 NCTC bacterial strains

Human enterovirus D68 (EV D-68), once considered rare, gained attention after the 2014 outbreak due to its ability to cause severe respiratory and neurological diseases, including acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). Children aged 6 months to 5 years, with no previous exposure immunity, and especially those with respiratory conditions, are at higher risk. A passage from 2015 B2 subclade isolate was recently added to the NCPV catalogue (NCPV 2210112v).

In an ongoing collaboration between Durham University and the European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC), two papers have been published utilising ECACC cells as model cell lines for 2D culture. 

The National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) has expanded its repository of antimicrobial resistance strains with the addition of three Neisseria gonorrhoeae reference strains. These strains are intended to serve as well-characterised reference material for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, supporting global efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance. 

Oropouche virus (OROV) first came to my attention in 2017 as a first year PhD student at Public Health England, just getting to grips with viral genomics. Despite being a leading cause of insect-borne infections in Brazil, this virus often goes under the radar in endemic areas as symptoms are similar to other diseases and healthcare infrastructure is often not well set up to support laboratory diagnosis.  

As 2024 comes to a close, I’m reflecting on what has been a year of transformation and achievement for the Culture Collections team. Here are some highlights from this eventful year, showcasing our progress and dedication to excellence.

Dispatch and order processing dates, and ECACC service dates, for December 2025 and January 2026 are now available.