RKI - Homepage (original) (raw)

RKI leads one of six new EU Reference Laboratories for Public Health

Since 1 January 2025, the EU Reference Laboratory for Public Health in the field of "High-risk, emerging and zoonotic pathogens" (EURL-PH-HEZB) has started its activities. It is one of so far six new EU reference laboratories for public health (EURLs) and is led by Robert Koch Institute’s unit ZBS 2 "Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms". The EURL-PH-HEZB covers several emerging and zoonotic bacterial pathogens, including Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Yersinia pestis (plague), Francisella tularensis (tularemia), Brucella spp. (brucellosis) and Borrelia spp. (borreliosis). Its aim is to support national reference laboratories and to ensure data comparability at EU level. The EURL-PH-HEZB consortium also includes the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology in Germany, the Swedish Folkhälsomyndigheten and the Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge in Portugal.

Date: 20.01.2025

Further Information

• News: RKI leads one of six new EU Reference Laboratories for Public Health (20.1.2025)
• Information on the EU reference laboratories for public health by the European Commission
• [ZBS 2: Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms](EN/Content/Institute/DepartmentsUnits/CenterBioSafety/zbs2/zbs2%5Fnode.html "More Information at "ZBS 2: Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms"")

Topics

What we do

The Robert Koch Institute is the public health institute in Germany. Around 1,500 people including 700 scientists work here. Learn more about the tasks and projects of the institute’s departments and units.

RKI informative film

Robert Koch – who was he and what does the Robert Koch Institute do today? The RKI informative film provides an overview over the institute in two and a half minutes – in German, English and French.

International Activities

The Robert Koch Institute is a global health hub. The institute cooperates closely with partner countries and institution from all over the world in order to investigate pathogens, tackle outbreaks, provide reliable diagnostics, train staff and more.

Health reporting

Robert Koch Institute's federal health reporting continuously informs about the health status of people in Germany - in various reports as well as in the Journal of Public Health (available also in English).

German Centre for Cancer Registry Data

The German Centre for Cancer Registry Data at RKI combines, checks and analyses data from the population-based cancer registries of the German federal states.