Sciensano is the result of the merger of two sister institutions, the ISP (Scientific Institute of Public Health) and the CERVA (Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre).
Founded in 2003, the ISP brought together at the time the Pasteur Institute of Brabant and the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, both of them looking back on more than a century of history as a reference in public health.
CERVA was officially established in 1997 but its institutions have existed since the early 1900s. It focuses on the safety of food production, veterinary health and public health.
Given their complementary activities, the merger between the ISP and the CERVA in 2018 has allowed for a streamlining of their human and material resources while offering a global response to the health challenges posed by today’s society. Sciensano is based on the ‘One Health’ concept whereby human health, animal health and environmental management are intrinsically linked. Sciensano seeks to decipher the mechanisms governing interactions between humans, animals and the environment to prevent, assess and minimise threats to public health. Sciensano connects health, science and society.
A look back over the key events that have marked its history.
Birth of PIB-IPB, ancestor of WIV-ISP
Creation of the Pasteur Institute of Brabant.
Creation of the IRC, the forerunner of the CERVA
The IRC (Institute for Chemical Research) originated in the Laboratory of Chemical and Onialogical Research of the Belgian Congo founded in 1912 in the Economy Department of the Belgian Congo Museum. It was then attached to the Ministry of the Colonies. Its activities focused on the chemical study of the natural productions of the colony. After the Congo gained its independence, the laboratory was transferred to the Department of Agricultural Research within the Ministry of Agriculture. Its mission included the study of agrochemical problems and, since the 1970s, the problem of the environment.
Creation of the NIDO-INRV, at the origin of CODA-CERVA
It was the return of rinderpest on Belgian soil in 1920, which imposed the necessity of setting up a Belgian laboratory capable of making rapid diagnoses. This laboratory was founded in 1930 and was named NIDO-INRV (National Institute of Veterinary Research) in 1957. Its mission was to guarantee animal health and thereby public health.
Environmental pollution
The Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, conducted one of the first studies into the influence of the environment on public health in our country.
Creation of the Scientific Institute of Public Health (WIV-ISP)
Due to the complementarity of their respective activities, the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (IHE) and Pasteur Institute of Brabant (PIB-IPB) merged. This marked the birth of the Scientific Institute of Public Health (WIV-ISP) as we know it until 2018, the year of its merger with the CODA-CERVA. Today, they form the new Belgian health institute Sciensano.
