 for public health began on 1 January 2025){kind=link}
The activity of the first six EU reference laboratories (EURLs) for public health began on 1 January 2025. Each laboratory is organised as a consortium and will operate based on a seven-year mandate. The network has been established according to Regulation 2022/2371 on Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health and is funded under the EU4Health programme. EURLs will support the European preparedness capacity to identify potential threats to public health. The network will also support national public health laboratories, namely concerning comparability of data and laboratory methods.
Each of the six EURLs is in charge of a specific area of action. The consortium on Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria is coordinated by Statens Serum Institut (DK). University of Turku (FI) leads the Diphtheria and pertussis consortium, while the Legionella one is coordinated by the Hospices Civils de Lyon (F). The Vector-borne viral pathogens lab is led by the Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (NL). The consortium on Emerging, rodent-borne and zoonotic viral pathogens is coordinated by the Folkhälsomyndigheten (SE), the one on High-risk, emerging and zoonotic bacterial pathogens by the Robert Koch-Institut (D).
Further three EURLs will start operate later in 2025. They will be responsible respectively of Food- and water-borne bacteria (Statens Serum Institut, DK), Food- and water-borne viruses (Norwegian Institute of Public Health) and Food-, water- and vector-borne helminths and protozoa (Istituto superiore di sanità, IT).
Source: European Commission