♦ 28 September 2015 ♦ The 2015’s edition of the World Rabies Day was held as usual on 28 September and thereabouts. This event is celebrated all around the world, and not only in endemic areas. In Europe and bordering countries, many events were recorded on the GARC website: You could note amongst other things presentation & fundraising in the United Kingdom, conferences, exhibitions and workshop for school children in France, local mini symposium in Croatia, conference in Serbia, meeting with Hunting Federation in Albania, mass vaccination campaign and workshops to raise awareness at Elementary and Secondary Schools in Tunisia, awareness campaign for medical and paramedical staff in Algeria and vaccination campaign, field activities, awareness campaigns in schools and also media campaigns through the press and TV shows in Morocco... Of course, many other events were held in the other parts of the world as shown on the GARC website map.  

♦ 02 September 2015 ♦ [Relayed from the OIE website] - The OIE is making publicly available on its website the 2014 edition of its Annual Report, providing an opportunity to look back over the events that marked the past year and to relive some aspects through videos, infographics, questions/answers and other online media. The document is available in English, French and Spanish: you are welcome to disseminate it within your own network. (…Read more)  

♦ 22 September 2015 ♦ A total of 68 laboratories undertook the rabies serology inter laboratory test this year. A hard copy of the report on the inter laboratory test for rabies serology performed this spring (session April 2015) is currently being sent to each participant laboratory. A satisfaction questionnaire will follow in the coming weeks. For any enquiry related to this proficiency trial, please contact the EURL for rabies serology team.  

♦ 01 October 2015 ♦   German National Reference Laboratory for Rabies Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut - FLI German National Reference Laboratory The National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for Rabies is one of the 70 German NRLs for notifiable and reportable animal diseases at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health. Three years ago our laboratory moved from the old location in Wusterhausen to the headquarters at the Isle of Riems, which is situated in the Baltic Sea half way between the cities of Stalsund and Greifswald. Aerial photograph of the headquarters of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut as of July 2015   Accreditation and tasks Our reference laboratory has been accredited by the Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle GmbH (DAkkS) according to ISO/IEC 17025. A broad range of standard rabies diagnostic tests including FAT, RTCIT, DRIT, RFFIT, FAVN, conventional and realtime PCRs as well as scientific methodologies are established. According to our terms of reference we clarify suspected cases, provide advice to the veterinary authorities and conduct ring trials or carry out similar quality assurance measures for rabies diagnostics for the more than 25 regional veterinary laboratories in Germany.     WHO and OIE mandates Since 1977 the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the FLI as Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research.  The development and management of the European Rabies Surveillance Database (www.who-rabies-bulletin.org) as well as the publication of the WHO Rabies Bulletin is a core area of our work here. In 1992 we were also appointed a reference laboratory for the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).   Staff Staff present on 14th July 2015 - From left to right: Tobias Nolden (postdoc), Thomas Müller, Angela Hillner, Conrad Freuling, Sabine Nehmitz (PhD Student), Jeannette Kliemt, Elisa Eggerbauer (PhD student), Dietlind Kretzschmar, Maria Günther (master student), Stefan Finke.   The permanent staff of the German NRL for Rabies comprises two scientists and one laboratory technician. However, we have access to other resources at FLI such as the next generation sequencing (NGS), immunological, molecular and epidemiological research units. We also employ PhD students in the frame of research projects. Head of laboratory and the WHO CC is Thomas Müller, while Conrad Freuling is editor-in-chief of the WHO Rabies Bulletin Europe and responsible for the European Rabies Database.   Facilities and research fields The BSL-3 diagnostic and experimental facilities are shared with the research group of Stefan Finke, which is mainly conducting basic research on lyssaviruses using sophisticated molecular techniques. There is strong inter-laboratory collaboration between our two groups.     We are currently coordinating an intramural FLI lyssavirus research network comprising seven individual research projects to be conducted in the next three years. Areas of research range from molecular basics of pathogenicity and virus host-adaptation, adaptive and innate immunity, molecular epidemiology and phylogeny to the development of molecular and pen-side methods. Additionally, we are involved in developing and testing novel approaches for oral immunization of wildlife against rabies.   Contact Dr Thomas Müller (Thomas.Mueller@fli.bund.de) Dr Conrad Freuling (Conrad.Freuling@fli.bund.de)  

♦ 24 September 2015 ♦ Thanks to all participants who performed the rabies diagnosis inter-laboratory test organized by the EURL for rabies this last spring. The report has been released this month and is now available on the private part of the EURL for rabies website. As usual, you will be able to find, additionally to the report of the results for the 2015 session, the answers to the online technical questionnaires and a reminder of the EURL recommendations. The laboratories performance has never been so high than this year, and only a few discordant results were shown.  For any remarks or questions regarding this inter laboratory test, do not hesitate to contact the EURL for rabies.  

The 20th workshop organized by the EU Reference Laboratory entitled “Screening of antimicrobials - Survey of Methods & Guidelines for Validation - Biosensors & Rapid Methods” -  Here the programme

Welcome to our new website opened October 2015 !

♦ 03 September 2015 ♦ Introduction of Finnish rabies reference laboratory Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira is the national reference laboratory for rabies. Veterinary Virology research unit operates in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The head of unit is DVM, PhD Tuija Gadd. The rabies laboratory is run by DVM Tiina Nokireki. We have six laboratory technicians and eight researchers trained to work with rabies in our BSL-3 laboratory facilities.   Techniques Techniques we use are FAT, RTCIT and RT-PCR for virus detection and ELISA and FAVN for the detection of antibodies.   Accreditation The laboratory is accredited according to ISO17025: FAT, FAVN, ELISA and vaccine bait titration have been accredited and this fall also RTCIT will be included in the accreditation.   Routine We examine about 500 to 700 samples per year for virus detection and about 400 serological samples. Bait uptake tetracycline analysis of carnivores is done in our Oulu laboratory for wildlife.   Finland rabies status Finland has been rabies free since 1991, but we carry out vaccination of wildlife along the south-east border in order to prevent rabies re-occurrence and there is a bilateral agreement concerning creation and maintenance of a vaccination buffer zone with Russia in force. EBLV-2 has been detected in Finnish Daubenton’s bats and we carry out a scientific research project on EBLV-2 in collaboration with Helsinki University, Professor Liisa Sihvonen being one important fellow researcher working at the University.   Contact Dr. Tiina Nokireki:  tiina.nokireki@evira.fi Website: www.evira.fi             Photo: Staff present on 26.8.2015:     On the left: Tiina Nokireki, on the right: Tuija Gadd, in between: Liisa Sihvonen.     On the background, Tiina Peltonen, Laura London, Merja Hautala, Niina Tammiranta,   Marika Karlsson, Sari Kiuru and Riikka Holopainen.     Staff missing from the photo: Miia Jakava-Viljanen (not currently working at Evira), Anita Huovilainen,   Ulla-Maija Kokkonen and Arja Engblom.    

♦ 01 September 2015 ♦ The next edition of the workshop for rabies should be held in Strasbourg, Eastern France on 20 and 21 April 2016. A more detailed notification on schedule and venue will be released in the coming months. Please save the date to make sure that you will be coming to this major annual event!  

♦ 01 September 2015 ♦ The EURL for rabies team hopes that you all had a nice summer time and wishes you a good new semester after the summer break. Most of you probably already have a full agenda for the coming months… Best wishes to all of you!