Tasks (Official duties)

Coordination of General Tasks

• Investigation of national outbreaks at the request of the Federal States
• Investigation of international outbreaks at the request of the WHO, other international organisations or individual states
• Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the epidemiological situation of infectious diseases (surveillance)
• Awareness of statutory tasks in the area of infection control
• Research and development of methods in the field of infectious disease epidemiology
• Implementation and support of outbreak investigations
• Development and evaluation of prevention and intervention strategies
• Development of evidence-based recommendations for the Public Health
• Support and consultation of partners in the public health service and policymakers at the county, state and federal level
• Exchange with other national and international health authorities
• Information of professional public
• Training and development in public health with a focus on infectious disease epidemiology

Training in Infectious Disease Epidemiology

• Planning and implementation of training courses for the German Public Health Service (Öffentlicher Gesundheitsdienst), e.g. short courses of Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology

• Provision of training capacity within the framework of national and international long-term training programs:

  • Postgraduate Training for Applied Epidemiology (PAE); 2 years at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin (German Field Epidemiology Training Program, FETP)
  • European Programs for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET)

Commissions

• Scientific Office of the Permanent Vaccination Commission (STIKO) (see. § 20 IfSG)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 33
• Scientific Office of the National Verification Commission - Measles / Rubella
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 33
• Scientific Office of the Scientific Advisory Board for Public Health Microbiology
  Functional Responsibility - Section 3, Head Office
• Scientific Office of the Expert Advisory Group Influenza
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 36
• Scientific Office of the Commission Anti-Infectives, Resistance and Therapy (ART)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 37

Representation of the RKI in National Committees

• Committees of the Working Group of the Supreme Health Authorities (AOLG) concerning Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Federal-State Working Group Infection Protection Act (IfSG)
• Federal-State Committee for Coordination of Activities of the HIV / STI Education
• National AIDS Council, in the field of Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• Bureau of the German Central Committee against Tuberculosis

Representation of the RKI in International Committees

• European Programs for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET)
• Steering Committee of Programs Directors TEPHINET (Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network)
• Council of European State Epidemiologists (CESE)
• Network Committee for Communicable Diseases of the European Commission (Decision no. 2119/98 / EG)
• Expert Group of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
• Global Health Security Action Group (GHSAG)
• Pandemic Influenza Working Group (PIWG)

Projects and Networks

• Working Group Influenza (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Influenza, AGI), GrippeWeb
• Food- and Water-borne Diseases Network (FWD / ECDC)
• Legionella Network (ELDSNet)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 36
• European Tuberculosis Surveillance Network
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 36
• European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network (ESAC-Net)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 37
• European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network(EARS-Net)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 37
• European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 36
• HIV-Seroconversion Network (CASCADE)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 34
• European Surveillance System (TESSy)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 32
• (EU-) Early Warning and Response System (EWRS)
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 32
• International Health Regulations (IHR), Call for Tender, REACT
  Functional Responsibility - Unit 32
• KV-Sentinel

Information Centre

The Department is associated with an information centre, that is responsible for the Infection Protection Act (IfSG)-related information for professionals and the professional public.