• The technology centre has inaugurated its new facilities in Derio, which expand its capacity to study diseases such as avian flu and Q fever.
•  The renovation expands the area to 900 m² and includes five independent laboratories, an animal facility with four rooms for small species and four boxes for large animals.
•  Other research centres and companies will have access to these facilities to carry out their trials safely and under controlled conditions.

 

Avian influenza, Q fever and tuberculosis are just some of the animal-borne diseases that can pose a risk to both livestock and public health. The study of these diseases requires specially designed facilities to ensure maximum safety and avoid any impact on people and the environment.

With the aim of promoting research into these agents, the NEIKER technology centre, an entity dependent on the Basque Government’s Department of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries, inaugurated this morning at its headquarters in Derio the new facilities of its level 3 biosafety laboratory (BSL3), following a comprehensive renovation that expands its surface area to 900 m², reinforces its security and improves energy efficiency.

The renovation required an investment of five million euros, financed mainly by the Basque Government’s Department of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries and, in part, by the State Research Agency. The result is a state-of-the-art facility designed to work with high biological risk pathogens, ensuring maximum safety for both the research team and the environment.

‘This is a unique facility, designed to work on finding solutions to zoonotic diseases, which are those that affect both humans and animals, including tuberculosis, avian influenza, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Q fever, among others,’ said Joseba Garrido, head of the Animal Health Department at the technology centre.

 

200 m² more space and new collaborations

The refurbishment has resulted in an extension of 200 square metres, with the reorganisation of the spaces to create five independent laboratories, an animal facility with four rooms for small species, four boxes for large animals, a necropsy room and technical areas, all adapted to the latest animal welfare standards.

This new configuration also expands the possibilities for cooperation with other research groups and companies. ‘These facilities are particularly valuable for pharmaceutical companies in the veterinary sector, which need to test prototypes on large animals in safe conditions,’ Garrido emphasised.

The improvements also include redundant and optimised critical systems, which increase the safety and reliability of operations, as well as the incorporation of geothermal energy in air conditioning, which improves energy efficiency and contributes to more sustainable operation of the facility.

Thanks to these efforts, the facility not only expands its research and collaboration capacity, but also reinforces the Basque Country’s position as a leader in animal health and biosecurity. This institutional support was reflected during the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by Lehendakari Imanol Pradales, accompanied by the Director General of NEIKER, Olatz Unamunzaga, as well as representatives of scientific institutions and the main players in the Basque Country’s livestock sector.

During his speech, the Lehendakari pointed out that ‘having this type of laboratory in the Basque Country strengthens the region’s position in the European disease surveillance and prevention network and helps to protect both livestock and human health’.

For her part, the centre’s director general emphasised that ‘these facilities enable us to advance research into animal diseases of major health importance, develop new solutions and collaborate with other centres and companies to generate concrete results that benefit both the agricultural and livestock sector and society as a whole’.

Thanks to this modernisation, NEIKER is strengthening its appeal as a leading European partner, opening up new avenues of funding and optimising the use of strategic infrastructure for science and public health.

 

In short

• Facility for working more safely and efficiently in the study of high-risk pathogens.
• 900 square metres of biocontained area in Derio divided into:
  • Five laboratories
  • Animal facility with four rooms for small species.
  • Four boxes for large animals.
  • Necropsy room.
  • Technical areas.