The Emerging Pathogens Laboratory (EPL) has been part of the Applied Research Department of the Mérieux Foundation since January 2011.
The team is made up of 16 staff members including 9 researchers, 1 bioinformatician, 1 project manager, 1 technician, and 3 administrative assistants.
The Emerging Pathogens Laboratory, covering a surface area of 450m2 and subdivided into offices and laboratories, is located near the Jean Mérieux BSL-4 laboratory on the Charles Mérieux campus in Lyon, in a stimulating academic environment for the study of virology and immunology. The EPL operates its own BSL-2 laboratory, and has access to a BSL-3 laboratory for research on MDR-TB and viral pathogens requiring containment. In addition, through collaboration with the Institute of Biomedical Research of the French Army (IRBA), we conduct research on Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever virus in the BSL-4 laboratory.
Since January 2013, the EPL has been one of the units collaborating with the International Center for Infectiology Research (CIRI), which was created to federate health care institutions from the Charles Mérieux campus involved in collaborative research projects on infectious diseases.
Its main mission is to strengthen local clinical biology and applied research capacities for a better understanding of infectious diseases.
In January 2020, the French Committee for Accreditation (COFRAC) granted accreditation to the Emerging Pathogens Laboratory for the European standard NF EN ISO / IEC 17025 in the sector of human biological research and studies, and development of the following biological molecular tests:
- identification and typing of the bacterium, Streptococcus pneumoniae, responsible for pneumonia,
- culture and identification of the bacteria, Salmonella enterica, typhi and paratyphi A, implicated in enteric fevers.