The Robert Koch Institut (RKI) is Germany’s central federal authority for disease control and prevention, as well as the central reference institution for the public health sector. The institute is also responsible for the epidemiologic and medical analysis of any disease with high national prevalence or health-related political significance.  RKI is made up of 1,000 staff members, including 300 scientists, and is divided into four major departments: infectious diseases; epidemiology and health reporting with a focus on noncommunicable diseases; infectious disease epidemiology with a focus on surveillance of notifiable infections and diseases; and biological safety with a focus on highly hazardous viral and bacterial pathogens and toxins.

The national pandemic influenza plan (Nationaler Pandemieplan) was drafted in 2005 and updated to it’s current form in 2007. It provides the basis for a coordinated response to influenza outbreaks. Key points are strategies to maintain public health care facilities and other essential services. The plan forms the basis on which all federal states evaluate their emergency procedures and level of preparedness.

In 2008, RKI completed the largest-ever health assessment of children and juveniles in Germany. Named the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KIGGS), the study recorded the health status of nearly 18,000 persons aged 17 and under. The survey’s results will act as an essential tool for health care policy-makers to further improve the health of children in Germany.

Also in 2008, RKI continues to improve the German Network for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (GENARS), which continuously gathers and evaluates data on all major antibiotic-resistant pathogens obtained from routine diagnostics in hospitals. GENARS provides up-to-date information on the status quo and current developments of hospital laboratories throughout the country and forms an important part of the German strategy for antibotic resistance, DART.