EURL Mission
EURL Team
Main Partners

In line with the Regulation (EU) No 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the 15 of March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, and, in particular, with art 93 thereof, on 24 November 2022, European Commission officially designated the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise (IZSAM), Teramo, Italy, as European Union Reference Laboratory (EU-RL) for Rift Valley fever (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2304).

The IZSAM is a public institution belonging to the Italian National Health System (www.izs.it). Adopting the “One Health approach”, it provides scientific and technical support to competent authorities in Italy and abroad on issues related to public health, animal health and welfare, food hygiene and food safety, and environmental protection. Most of the EU-RL activities are then carried out on the IZSAM facilities utilizing their resources and personnel.

According to the REGULATION (EU) 2017/625 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15th March 2017 (Article 94), responsibilities and tasks of European Union reference laboratories are:
To contribute to the improvement and harmonisation of methods of analysis, test or diagnosis to be used by official laboratories and of the analytical, testing and diagnostic data generated by them; organizing regular proficiency tests and by ensuring appropriate follow-up of such comparative testing.
Providing national reference laboratories with details and guidance on the methods of laboratory analysis, testing or diagnosis, including reference methods; as well as reference materials.
Coordinating practical arrangements necessary to apply new methods of laboratory analysis, testing or diagnosis, and informing national reference laboratories of advances in this field. Cooperate among themselves and with the Commission, as appropriate, to develop methods of analysis, testing or diagnosis of high standards.
Conducting training courses for staff from national reference laboratories and, if needed, from other official laboratories, as well as of experts from third countries.
Providing scientific and technical assistance to the Commission within the scope of their mission.
Providing information on relevant national, European Union and international research activities to national reference laboratories.
Collaborating within the scope of their mission with laboratories in third countries and with the EFSA, the EMA and the ECDC.
Assisting actively in the diagnosis of outbreaks in Member States of animal diseases by carrying out confirmatory diagnosis, characterization and taxonomic or epizootic studies on pathogen isolates.
Coordinating or performing tests for the verification of the quality of reagents and lots of reagents used for the diagnosis of animal diseases.
Establishing and maintaining reference collections of reference strains of pathogenic agents.
Up-to-date lists of available reference substances and reagents and of manufacturers and suppliers of such substances and reagents.
To publish the list of the national reference laboratories designated by the Member States.