About HIOH

Globalization, climate change, increased human mobility, intensified livestock farming, and increasing urbanization and loss of natural habitats are the main causes of the outbreak and rapid spread of infections. Pathogens spread globally, crossing species boundaries and often developing multi-drug resistance. A lack of therapeutics and vaccines is also a global problem. As the Corona pandemic dramatically demonstrated, our understanding of the origin and transmission of such zoonotic infections is still limited. HIOH is specifically addressing this knowledge gap, setting the stage for effective pandemic preparedness and prevention measures.

With its integrated and contemporary scientific approach, a unique cluster of complementary founding partners and a state-of-the-art infrastructure in Greifswald, HIOH offers the opportunity to address these pressing global issues. It focuses on investigating the interfaces between human, animal and environmental health through longitudinal and comprehensive sampling, data collection and analysis related to emerging infections, microorganisms and resistance in two model regions. One of these research focus areas are the African tropics,a hotspot for disease emergence and antimicrobial resistance. The other focus area is right on HIOH's doorstep in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. HIOH and its partners thus aim to contribute to significantly improved "Pandemic Preparedness" and more effective control of antimicrobial resistance within the One Health framework.