Robert Koch-Institut (RKI)

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is the central federal institution responsible for disease control and prevention and is therefore the central federal reference institution for both applied and response-orientated research as well as for the Public Health Sector. The tasks of the Robert Koch Institute comprise: * The identification of politically important health problems and associated scientific issues * Applied and response-orientated research to resolve these issues * The assessment of scientific results through analysis of current international developments in the respective scientific areas * Informing and the advising political decision makers and the scientific sector * Executive tasks defined by special laws, in particular with regard to protection from infection, legislation on stem cell research, and attacks using biological agents * The topical realisation and coordination of federal health reporting. Apart from the enforcement of special laws, the tasks at the RKI include the legal obligation to compile scientific findings as a basis for political decisions concerning health issues. The RKI therefore communicates and cooperates with partners in the scientific sector, the Public Health Service and the Health Care Sector. The institute has major responsibilities in the field of scientific investigation, epidemiologic and medical analysis and evaluation of dangerous diseases and those with a high prevalence or of increased public or health-related political significance.