Sciensano hosts the Belgian National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for glanders. As such, we are active in 3 main areas:
Diagnosis | identifying glanders to limit its transmission
Our laboratory carries out the serological diagnosis in equines using the complement fixation test. The complement fixation test is a medical immunoassay used to detect the presence of antigen-specific antibodies in serum, depending on whether complement fixation occurs or not. It is used to diagnose infections that are difficult to detect using traditional culture methods.
Research | setting up of quality assurance procedures
Our laboratory is involved in the implementation of quality assurance procedures for the isolation, identification and typing of highly pathogenic bacteria. This requires a laboratory guaranteeing biosafety level 3, including Burkholderia mallei.
Expertise | availability of a laboratory guaranteeing biosafety level 3
We have the necessary authorisations and facilities to carry out the isolation and identification of Burkholderia mallei bacterium in safe conditions (level 3 bio-safety laboratory).