The globalization of infectious diseases and recent epidemics of Ebola, Zika, demonstrate the reality of dangerous infectious threats and the worldwide vulnerability towards them. Coordinated and prompt access to a large variety of high containment and complementary research capacities with high quality services enabling the excellence-driven research is required to be able to prevent and respond to the epidemics.High containment facilities are rare and costly resources. Currently ERINHA is the only Research Infrastructure of its kind in Europe and worldwide and therefore represents a fundamental added value contributing to the European excellence in the field of research, competitiveness, innovation and preparedness.Research carried out in the ERINHA infrastructure is intended to contribute to the overarching mission of protecting human health by increasing Europe’s preparedness for and capability to respond to an existing high consequence infectious disease or a newly emerged infectious disease threat.