Partner 4:

Centro de Investigation en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Technología Agraria (INIA) Ctra. De Algete a El Casar, Valdeolmos 28130, Madrid, Spain

Current expertise:
       CISA has a High Security Laboratory (HSL), it is built with the most modern safety systems, which makes it possible to work with high risk, highly infectious and exotic agents. The HSL covers 10.824 m2 and include 42 laboratories of NS3 and 2 laboratories NS4, as well as the Animal Facilities composed by 21 boxes to work "in vivo" with exotic diseases, including those transmitted by air, like foot and mouth disease (FMD). The Centre is the National Reference Centre for the EU for the most of the OIE list A diseases, OIE and FAO World Reference Centre for African swine fever (ASF) and African horse sickness and FAO Reference Center for Classical Swine Fever (CSF).
        The HSL scientific staff is over 60 veterinarians, immunologists, virologists, molecular biologists, including technical support staff, graduate and post-graduate researchers. The HSL is composed by a Molecular biology area, an Immunology area and the Pathology, Development and Diagnosis of Exotic disease sections. They have a large experience in research on molecular biology, immunology and diagnosis of porcine viruses as FMDV, ASFV, CSFV, SVDV (swine vesicular disease virus) and equine viruses such as African horse sickness virus. All these facts made of CISA the perfect laboratory to perform "in vivo" experiments, and work with exotic-virus. This laboratory works with isolates from different European sources, in the elaboration of effective sampling strategies. CISA is already ahead in the use of large-scale PCR technology for removing PRRSV from endemic herds and the use of this technology in eradication strategies.

Project leader:
Dr. Ana Canals, Administrative coordinator, CISA

Participating in the project:
Dr. Marisa Arias, BSL-3 Research coordinator, CISA
Dr. Montse Agüero, Contracted researcher
Jovita Fernandez, Scientist employee
Luis Romero, Head of BSL-3 Exotic Disease section
Dr. Carmen Sanchez, BSL-3 Pathologist

Address:
Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal
Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Technología Agraria y Alimentaria Carretera de Valdeolmos a El Casar s/n
28130 Valdeolmos, Madrid
SPAIN
Tel.: 34-91-620 23 00
Fax: 34-91-620 22 47
E-mail: canals@inia.es, arias@inia.es
Web-site: http://www.inia.es