The World Health Organisation (WHO) EURO Regional Office in Copenhagen has nominated for the fifth time the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Measles Infections in Luxembourg located at LIH’s Department of Infection and Immunity.

This WHO Centre is led by Prof Claude P. Muller (LIH/Laboratoire national de santé) and Dr Judith Hübschen (LIH) as Head and Deputy Head, respectively. The re-nomination is valid from March 2017 to March 2021, the first designation having been in February 1998. WHO expects policy and technical support provided to Member States in order to enhance their capacity to carry out surveillance and monitoring of all communicable diseases of public health importance.

The fields of activity of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Measles Infections are the following:

• Monitoring of genetic changes in measles virus wild-type strains to follow transmission chains in support of WHO measles virus surveillance
• Support of WHO in maintaining high-level vaccine coverage and immunity in high risk groups and the general population
• Examining of waning of immunity in infants to provide information to WHO for assessing current vaccination schedules
• Monitoring of sensitivity of surveillance systems in collaboration with WHO and support WHO certification of elimination
• Development and implementation of new laboratory techniques and optimisation of existing ones to further improve the performance of the WHO Measles and Rubella laboratory network
• Identification of training needs, together with WHO, and training of staff of the WHO Measles and Rubella laboratory network to maintain and build capacity in measles laboratory diagnosis and surveillance