Researchers from other institutions and pharmaceutical companies make use of the animal facility to develop specialised BSL3 in vivo experiments.

Diagnostic studies and evaluation of processes arising from health and environmental toxicants affecting animal populations. Risk assessment and environmental impact of farming, agro-industrial effluents and veterinary medicines affecting intensive or extensive systems of production, or natural populations.

i) Participation in the early warning system; ii) epidemiology and risk assessment studies; iii) participation in surveillance programmes, including production and distribution of biological reagents and diagnostic kits; iv) prevalence studies and characterization of pathogens causing shared diseases (public health, livestock, wildlife) in wild reservoirs; v) harmonization of diagnostic methods through organization of interlaboratory comparison tests at national level; vi) improvement of knowledge and development of new tools for diagnosis of transboundary diseases, specially those at higher risk of entrance; vii) assessment of commercial diagnostics kits, control of biological products.

Scientific and technical activities as ASF Reference Laboratory include: i) coordination of methods employed, standardization of tests and reagents; ii) harmonization of diagnostic techniques of national reference laboratories (NRLs) of Member states and third countries in Europe, Africa and Asia, diagnosis; iii) production and distribution of serological and virological diagnostic kits and reagents worldwide; iv) training courses and technology transfer, on diagnostic techniques, ASFV characterization and production of reagents; v) international missions through organisms and collaborations and vi) and participation in R&D projects.

Sequencing service for internal and external use.

42 laboratories and an BLS3 animal facility consisting of 19 individual, multi-species and polyvalent rooms with the capability to shelter fish, small and large animals. The rooms include shower area and animal housing. They are contained through three depression levels which allow for working with aerosol transmissible agents, such as foot and mouth disease, avoiding the risk of spreading to other areas. Researchers from other institutions and pharmaceutical companies make use of the animal facility to develop specialised BSL3 in vivo experiments.

A restricted BSL-2 Area is located outside the BSL facility. This area consists of 10 laboratories equipped with the appropriate infrastructure for epidemiology and risk assessment, toxicological bioassays, sequencing and molecular biology and diagnosis of infectious diseases, including wild life species. This area supports BSL3 studies in the area of epidemiology and risk assessment and is also used by researchers for those specific cases and/or partial studies not requiring BSL3.