topic Hightech Strategy

Infection and Inflammation

Along with cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases are the most common cause of death worldwide. Illnesses such as hepatitis, tuberculosis and AIDS, as well as new viruses and pathogens, are also a threat to western industrialized countries: Bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, vaccination fatigue is growing and long-distance travel promotes the spread of infectious diseases all around the world. Recent research has also found that there are causal relations between infections and certain types of cancer, stomach ulcers and inflammatory joint diseases. Infections play an important role in more diseases than we used to think.

Against this background, research on "Inflammations and Infections" continues to be a priority of BMBF funding activities in the field of health research.

Competence networks in medicine on infectious and inflammatory diseases

The BMBF has been funding the Competence Networks in Medicine since 1999 in order to improve the transfer of results from basic research to clinical research and finally to patient care. Six competence networks are currently working on infectious and inflammatory diseases:

• Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease (KN CED),
• Rheumatism,
• Community Acquired Pneumonia (Capnetz),
• Hepatitis (Hep-Net),
• HIV/AIDS, and
• Sepsis

These competence networks receive funding totalling 76 million Euro for a maximum of eight years. Then, they are to continue their work self-sufficiently and by attracting research funds.

Avian influenza

The avian flu virus, which originally raged in Asia, has caused fear of an ominous worldwide influenza epidemic. The incidence of the virus has been proven in several Länder in Germany. Migratory birds have introduced it to this country.

The avian flu virus has been known for more than 100 years and is wide-spread among migratory birds. There are regular waves of infection during the winter months. The current virus type H5N1 has proven to be highly infectious and dangerous for birds. According to current figures, over 100 million birds worldwide have been infected so far. By July 2007, the WHO had confirmed over 300 cases among humans worldwide; almost 200 of them were fatal. The transmission of avian flu from animal to human is therefore possible when there is close contact, but - as figures show - does not occur as often as was feared at the beginning of the outbreak.

In Germany, avian flu has so far occurred in wild birds and in a few mammals. So far, no avian flu infection communicated by wild birds has been observed in humans. Nor has an infection from human to human been observed with this virus.

There is currently no vaccine against the H5N1 virus. However, a regular influenza vaccination is recommended to prevent a cross-over between common influenza viruses and avian flu viruses. Due to common changes in influenza viruses, a virus mutation can occur, which could then also be dangerous for humans. For such a case, the Robert Koch Institute has drafted a comprehensive prevention plan on behalf of the Federal Government and is conducting research to develop a vaccine together with other institutes. The Robert Koch Institute provides a summary of all current information on avian flu.

Zoonoses research agreement

On 22 March 2006, the Federal Cabinet adopted a research agreement on diseases which can be communicated from animals to humans (zoonoses). The Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) are involved in the agreement. The transmission of pathogens from animals to humans is to be studied more intensively through better cooperation between veterinary surgeons and medical doctors. The Federal Government's special immediate action research programme on "Influenza" is to close knowledge gaps on H5N1 avian flu and on the threat of a pandemic and is to develop the basis for further necessary studies. Furthermore, the programme is to facilitate new strategies to combat avian flu. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is already investing 20 million Euro p.a. in research on infectious diseases. The financing volume of the new agreement is 60 million Euro over a period of 4 years.

Genome network "Infections and Inflammations" (NGFN)

The disease-oriented genome network "Infections and Inflammations" focuses on the reactions of the human organism to infections with different pathogens. Research on these mechanisms uses functional genomics. It looks into questions of chronic inflammatory diseases, auto-immune phenomena and infectiological problems in the fields of bacteriology, virology and parasitology. The focus is on the study of chronic inflammatory diseases and auto-immune diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis) and questions of infectious diseases caused by bacteria (such as sepsis, tuberculosis), viruses (such as hepatitis) or parasites (such as malaria). The BMBF will make about 37 million Euro available for functional genome research into infections and inflammations up to mid 2008.

Research Networks on Susceptibility and Resistance to Infections

Elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of pathogen-host interaction is already well advanced. However, the significance of the body's own natural resistance to micro-organisms for susceptibility to infectious diseases has only recently become apparent. Natural resistance is the product of the complex interaction of various components, such as the natural immune system, the resistance of mediatory proteins in the body and the organ-specific composition of bacterial microflora. Increased knowledge in this field offers new approaches for disease-related research into important infectious diseases. At the same time, it also provides an opportunity to be able to systematically influence natural resistance to infectious diseases and to develop new strategies for therapy using components of natural resistance.

Five interdisciplinary collaborations will receive funding of 15 million Euro, initially for three years starting in 2007. Successful collaborations will have the opportunity to continue their work for another two years. The range of topics includes tuberculosis, streptococcus aureus infections of the skin, gastro enteric infections, hepatitis C and sepsis.

Clinical infectious diseases/clinical research groups

Since 2000, the BMBF has been supporting two clinical research groups to support the establishment of the study of clinical infectious diseases in university hospitals. A research group at the Freiburg Albert Ludwig University Hospital is studying, inter alia, the factors causing and the course of hepatitis B and C. This project is funded with about 1.5 million Euro. A project to study infections in patients whose resistance is weakened by medical drugs at Regensburg University Hospital is receiving funding of about 1.2 million Euro. C3 professors for clinical infectious diseases have also been appointed at both universities, so that new competences extending beyond the scope of the funded programmes have been established for clinical research into infectious diseases in Germany.

A further announcement was published in 2005. Three additional clinical research groups in Giessen, Cologne and Ulm will be funded from 2007 onwards. Professors for clinical infectious diseases have been appointed. In Jena, funding is being provided for the establishment of a clinical research group.

A rapid transfer of results from basic research to the industrial production of new vaccines is to be facilitated by the BMBF vaccine initiative. Costly research and, above all, comprehensive clinical trials are required for the market introduction of a new vaccine; the results are then developed further by pharmaceuticals companies at an early stage. In a first step, the vaccine initiative drew up a map of vaccine research with the corresponding platform technologies in Germany. Since April 2001, the BMBF has also been funding a management structure which is intended to promote the targeted product-oriented further development of existing potential vaccines.