University of Turku to coordinate European Reference Laboratory for pertussis and diphtheria control

The European Commission has appointed a European Reference Laboratory to support the control and monitoring of pertussis and diphtheria in the EU/EEA countries. The University of Turku in Finland will lead and coordinate the laboratory, which includes five institutes in four countries.

Pertussis and diphtheria are serious diseases, but both can be effectively prevented by vaccines. Nevertheless, pertussis and diphtheria are still a matter of concern in the European Union. The diseases are either still spreading or re-emerging in certain areas, and there are ongoing epidemics of pertussis in many European countries, including Finland. This is why the European Commission has appointed a new European Reference Laboratory for Diphtheria and Pertussis (EURL-PH-DIPE) to contribute to the prevention and control of these diseases.

The consortium, led at the University of Turku by Professor and InFLAMES group leader Qiushui He and Project Researcher Alex-Mikael Barkoff, has members from four EU Member States, namely Finland, Belgium, France and Germany. The project is carried out in close cooperation with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The project will run for seven years (2025-2031). The project has a budget of over €2.6 million, of which the University of Turku will receive just under one million euros.

Responding and preparing for health threats

EURL-PH-DIPE aims to maintain and increase the European Union's capacity to respond to the health threats posed by diphtheria and pertussis. This will be accomplished by, for example, developing and harmonising laboratory capacity in the Member States. The consortium also aims to improve surveillance, harmonise methods, and ensure a rapid response to local and larger-scale outbreaks.

Furthermore, an EU-wide seroprevalence study of anti-pertussis, anti-diphtheria and anti-tetanus antibodies will be performed. The role of the consortium also includes sharing training and expertise across Europe.

It is a great honor that we have been appointed as the European Reference Laboratory for Diphtheria and Pertussis, which acknowledges the strength of our complementary competencies in the consortium,"

Prof Qiushui He, Professor and InFLAMES group leader, University of Turku

Consortium reflects Turku's strong expertise in the field

The Turku Pertussis Team, which is led by Professors Qiushui He and Jussi Mertsola, has long-term experience in pertussis studies. Since 2001, Professor He has been the head of Finnish National Reference Laboratory for Diphtheria and Pertussis. In addition, Professors He and Mertsola have been leading the European network, "EUpertstrain", to study the impact of B. pertussis strain variations on vaccine effectiveness in Europe since 2005.

Furthermore, Professor He has been coordinating ECDC funded pertussis laboratory networks (EUPert-LabNet & ERLNPert-Net) from 2009 onwards, aiming to have standardised laboratory surveillance of pertussis in Member States of EU and EEA countries. The team has also conducted multiple pertussis vaccine studies in the last 30 years.