Partner 39 – Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI)

FLI, Riems, Germany. The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health (FLI) is an independent higher federal authority affiliated with the Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The FLI publishes research results, cooperates with scientists and scientific institutions in Germany and worldwide, and fulfils in the area of biorisks the tasks assigned to it by the World Organisation for Animal Health as ‘Collaborative Centre for Zoonosis in Europe’ as well as by the World Health Organisation as ‘World Reference Centre for Rabies’. FLI runs the veterinary branch of the German Zoonoses Platform, an initiative which is funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research. Four institutes (syn. depts.) are located on the Isle of Riems: Molecular Biology, Infectiology, Diagnostic Virology, and for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases. The FLI presently holds laboratory and animal facilities up to level L3+ (L4vet) and from 2011 on laboratories and animal housing from BSL2 to BSL4 at its headquarters on the Isle of Riems. In the zoonotic area, FLI is conducting research studies on viral zoonoses caused by flaviviruses (West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus a.o.), influenza (avian, swine) viruses, alphaviruses (American equine encephalitis viruses), bunyaviruses (Hanta-, Rift Valley fever virus, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus a.o.), rhabdo viruses, Herpeviruses (Hepatitis E virus), filoviruses (Marburg, Ebola viruses) and by Henipaviruses. For all these diseases, FLI functions as national reference laboratory based on the German animal disease act.

Broad range of research experience over decades with epidemiological and diagnostic studies on infectious agents ranging from BSL2 to BSL3+ (zoonotic bacteria and viruses), BSL3** (prions) and BSL3agriculture (e.g. FMD). Main participant (Martin H. Groschup) was heading the veterinary branch of the German TSE Research Platform during its existence 2002-2008 and is since 2009 cofounder and head of the veterinary branch of the German Zoonosis Research Platform (www.zoonosen.net), which organises and coordinates the research activities nationwide across the thematic fields of virology, bacteriology, and parasitology. Prof. Groschup is also partner in the EU funded NADIR infrastructure project and is involved in the ArboZooNet group.