Updated map Mapping the European infectious disease networks, research consortia, and other initiatives, and their relationship to DURABLE partners The DURABLE consortium brings together the top-class diagnostic and research laboratories in Europe from medical and veterinary fields, that have been drivers of emerging disease preparedness research and diagnostics for the past decades. DURABLE partners have close links to key initiatives in the clinical field, and ongoing research consortia and infrastructures for pandemic preparedness and response. DURABLE has designed a work...

Dear Durable members, We hope this message finds you well. We are reaching out to invite you to the Durable Young –  Coffee & Chats meetings. All interested members, particularly early-career researchers, are welcome to join these informal online meetings to discuss scientific/technical issues, identify shared interests, exchange knowledge, and strengthen connections within the Durable community. The sessions are planned to take place every six weeks, each lasting around one hour on Wednesdays or Fridays (11:00–12:00). ...

In February 2026, the DURABLE WP11 partners reconvened for another network-wide meeting, this time focusing on diseases transmitted through direct contact from animals. As zoonotic threats continue to emerge and evolve, this session provided a timely opportunity to exchange knowledge on recent developments and ongoing research across the network. The following researchers presented their work in our February meeting:  Update about Cow H5 in the Netherlands Bas Oude Munnink – Erasmus MC – Short update on the first cases of mpox clade Ib detected in the Netherlands ...

Register now for the upcoming webinar of Durable: “Development and Field Deployment of Molecular Detection Assays During Outbreak Situations”.Date: Thursday, March 5 at 2PM – CETRegistration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5nlwcwPCRo6EkCJhngyV7Q Speakers We will have three outstanding speakers: Christian Drosten from Charité, Berlin on “Facing the diagnostic challenges during COVID-19”, Rémi Charrel and Christine Prat from AMU, Marseille, on “Quality control and obtaining/managing positive controls – Deployment of first-line detection tools” This...

In January 2026, partners from across the DURABLE network came together for a WP11 meeting dedicated to advancing our collective understanding of vector-borne diseases (VBD). These meetings provide an important platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange across disciplines, bringing together researchers from across Europe. The January session focused specifically on vector-borne disease dynamics in the context of environmental change, urbanisation, and emerging health risks.  Sandra Jungle, CHARITE: Urban ecology and amplification dynamics of West Nile...

We’re excited to announce the One Health Approaches to Study Climate-Sensitive Infectious Diseases Summer School, which will take place 17–28 August 2026 across two inspiring European hubs: 📍 Week 1: Rotterdam, The Netherlands (hosted by @ErasmusMC)📍 Week 2: Heidelberg, Germany (hosted by @Heidelberg University) 🌍 Why join?Climate change and nature-based solutions are reshaping ecosystems—and with them, the dynamics of infectious diseases. This 2-week immersive summer school brings together early-career researchers, students and practitioners to explore One Health approaches at...

Interview with Rory de Vries, virologist of Erasmus MCBird flu vaccine The vaccines had already been declared safe. But because the vaccine has been updated to the latest variant, just like with the annual flu shot, the effectiveness still had to be investigated. There are not yet any concrete plans to distribute the shots. A bird flu vaccine for humans, of which a number of European member states jointly purchased around 665,000 doses last year, probably offers good protection against the virus. This emerges from a Finnish study that was published on Friday in Nature Microbiology,...

On 12 December 2025, Marion Koopmans, researcher and virologist, gave a lecture for the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) at the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam on the possibilities (and dangers) of AI in healthcare. Key messages from this lecture were also reflected in a recent interview with KNAW: “Developments [of AI in healthcare] are moving fast. For example, American researchers, with the help of AI, recently succeeded in writing a genetic code for a new virus that could kill antibiotic-resistant E. coli bacteria. If you could treat diseases more often in this way,...