The Centre for Research on Animal Health (CISA- INIA) is located in Valdeolmos, Madrid. CISA-INIA was designed to perform R&D activities, international cooperation and transfer of technology on Animal health, mainly on emerging and transboundary animal infectious diseases of great economic impact. CISA is rather unique, mainly due to the size and quality of its animal facilities in Biosafety level 3 (BSL-3).  Due to these features, CISA has reached the status of Singular Scientific and Technological Infrastructure in Spain.

The CISA’s goals are stated in the Royal Decree of its foundation (BOE 34 de 9/2/1993) and can be summarized as “research and development for the prevention and control of infectious diseases of animals”, as well as to carry out  technological developments, support to the Agriculture Ministry in fighting against animal infectious diseases of economical and sanitary impact, and strength National and international cooperation activities, and  technology transfer within the region and worldwide.

The main activities currently performed at CISA are related to the animal infectious diseases of obligatory report, including zoonosis. The R&D projects (media of 40-45 annual projects funded by National and EU research programmes as well as agreements with private Companies and/or International Institutions) are mainly based on molecular and biochemistry characterization studies of pathogens and BSE’s, host-virus interactions studies, strategies for new vaccines (deletion mutants, DNA vaccines, recombinant viruses, etc.), research on the immune mechanisms involved in protection against infections, studies of pathogens affecting wild and domestic animals, epidemiology, risk assessment, eco-epidemiology, the influence of environmental and climatic factors that contribute to the survival and spread of viruses, wildlife as reservoirs for pathogens, etc. Special emphasis is given to the improvement of new tools for prevention and control of animal diseases such as African Swine fever, African horse sickness, Bluetongue, Classical Swine Fever, Peste des petit ruminants, Swine vesicular disease, Foot and Mouth disease, Vesicular stomatitis, and zoonotic pathogens such as Rift Valley Fever, Avian Influenza and West Nile. These activities include molecular epidemiological studies as well as the development of new detection methods as new rapid PCR methodologies (conventional, multiplex and real time) or recombinant antigens for the early diagnosis of most of the important emerging and transboundary infectious diseases listed above.

Scientific and technical activities of the Emerging and Transboundary Disease Group at CISA‐INIA participating in this ASFORCE project  also include those related to the duties as European Union Reference Laboratory for African swine fever (ASF‐URL) as a centre of expertise for the international harmonization of ASF diagnostic techniques and in addition, it is directly involved in the reinforcement of the Animal Health Spanish National Reference Laboratories by an active collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environmental health (MAGRAMA).

Recently CISA-INIA has been nominated by FAO as Reference Laboratory for African swine fever.  

(http://asf-referencelab.info/asf/en/asf-info/about-our-centre)