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The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research has set itself the goal of finding new diagnostic methods, new active substances and new therapies against infectious diseases. Here you can find out why we cannot forgo animal experiments in our research.

From July 2020 to August 2021, a research team from the HZI, with external support, studied the antibody status of more than 26,000 people in seven county districts and thus collected important data on the pandemic event.

Though the Corona pandemic is not over yet, we should already start preparing for future pandemics. A look at what infection research can contribute.

The Helmholtz Institute for One Health is a new HZI location in Greifswald, linking research into human and animal health with environmental factors.

Viruses have coexisted with mankind for a long time. The oldest genetic evidence of a viral disease shows that people already suffered from liver inflammation caused by hepatitis B viruses about 7,000 years ago. The genetic material of these viruses was found in teeth from this period, which were discovered in Saxony-Anhalt. Since then, many different viral diseases have appeared –and others, like smallpox, have disappeared forever. Newly emerging viruses, which have previously only spread in the animal kingdom, have been able to cross the species barrier and adapt to humans as new hosts. Since the end of 2019, the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2) has shown that nowadays such a virus can take over the whole world in a very short time.

Electron microscopy (EM) is not some monotonous assembly-line job, because each assignment poses new challenges. A diverse range of things is magnified and examined, such as immune cells, algae or phages – the work is always different and always interesting. However, biological EM is only practiced by four specialists in Germany. One of these highly qualified experts is Manfred Rohde at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI).