Riems
Therefore, access to the island is forbidden
The Friedrich Loeffler Institute is located on the island of Riems.
© Stefan Dinse / Shutterstock.com
The small island of Riems is an idyllic piece of earth in the Baltic Sea. But only a few have access because it is a restricted area.
After reactor explosions, the areas around the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plants are still restricted areas. Because the radioactive radiation contaminates water, soil and the air. But not only in Japan and the Ukraine there are such restricted areas – an island also has such a status in Germany. The reason for this, however, is not a nuclear disaster, but virus research.
The Friedrich Loeffler Institute works with viruses
The 1,250 meter long and 300 meter wide island of Riems is located in the southwest of the Greifswalder Bodden bay, which extends between the mainland and the island of Rügen. The small piece of earth in the Baltic Sea is home to the headquarters of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute. Scientists have been investigating animal diseases at what is now the Federal Research Institute since 1910. This makes it one of the oldest virus research centers in the world.
In an experiment in 1898, Friedrich Loeffler (1852-1915) discovered that the foot-and-mouth disease in cattle and pigs was not caused by bacteria, but by viruses. However, his discovery also had an unpleasant side effect: Loeffler accidentally infected an entire region with the disease. So that this could not happen again, he moved his research to the island of Riems.
The coronavirus is being examined on Riems
During the Second World War, the remote location was used to research biological weapons. During the GDR era, around 800 employees devoted themselves to vaccine development. Today there are still around 450 employees who check for Riems animal diseases such as BSE, Ebola or rabies. In addition, veterinary vaccines are being developed on the sealed-off island in the Baltic Sea. In 2006, for example, scientists were researching a vaccine against avian flu. Since 2020, the research has also been about SARS-CoV-2, as emerged from a press release.
The federal government invested around 300 million euros in the institute in 2008 – the facility had become larger and more modern by 2013. The research facility can now boast over 80 laboratories. A small village called Riemserort is also part of the island. Almost 1,000 people live there, as reported by ZDF. Apparently these residents are not afraid of epidemics.