The EU Reference Laboratory for Public Health on Helminths and Protozoa
The EU Reference Laboratory for Public Health on Helminths and Protozoa (EURL-PH-HP) is, as of 1 January 2026, one of the EU Reference Laboratories for Public Health (EURL) designated by the European Commission. It is led by a consortium coordinated by the Italian National Institute of Health and the Public Health Agency of Sweden.
Website
Visit the EURL-PH-HP website (iss.it)
Objectives
The primary role for the EURL for Food-, Water-, and Vector-borne Helminths and Protozoa (EURL-PH-HP) is to ensure high-quality, harmonised, and uniform testing for helminths and protozoa causing human diseases at the EU level, with a focus on four mandatory parasitic pathogens: Echinococcus (cystic and alveolar echinococcosis), Toxoplasma (toxoplasmosis), Trichinella (trichinellosis), and Plasmodium (malaria). Other parasites relevant to EU public health may be included.
The result will be a body of resilient diagnostic laboratories in the EU that contribute to uniform surveillance and effective reporting of serious cross-border threats in the field of parasitology.
Project summary
The EURL-PH-HP will promote good practice and alignment by Member States on a voluntary basis by supporting the EU national reference laboratories on diagnostics and testing methods, enabling uniform surveillance, notification and reporting of serious cross-border health threats and ensuring EU-level data comparability. The support will be channelled to the Member States through the ECDCs disease networks the European Emerging and Vector-borne Diseases Network (EVD-Net) and the European Food- and Waterborne Diseases and Zoonoses Network (FWD-Net).
The main tasks are to provide confirmatory diagnostics, characterisation reference services, reference material for identification and characterisation purposes and test protocols. Furthermore, capacity-building for laboratories through training and annual network meetings together with External Quality Assessments (EQAs) will ensure laboratory proficiency and contribute to high-quality uniform parasitology diagnostics in the Member States. This enhanced capability will positively impact monitoring, alert notifications and support in outbreak response in connection to tracking and responding to cross-border threats. Finally, guidance for Member States through scientific advice and technical assistance and joint efforts in collaboration and research will advance the field of parasitology.
Consortium partners
The EURL-PH-HP is a consortium led by the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità – ISS, Italy) in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten – PHAS).
Istituto Superiore di Sanità (iss.se)
Contact
- Contact the EURL-PH-HP coordination by email: eurl-ph-hp@iss.it
- Contact the EURL-PH-HP at the Public Health Agency of Sweden by email: eurl-ph-hp@folkhalsomyndigheten.se
Funded by the European Union
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.