“We really are the Alcatraz of viruses, a kind of prison for viruses,” said Franz Conraths, deputy head of the island’s Friedrich Loeffler Institute. Located south of picturesque Ruegen Island, Riems has become a global center for the study of pathogens such as rabies, African swine fever and Ebola. “We do everything possible to ensure they do not spread,” Conraths said of the viruses on his island. The Friedrich Loeffler Institute is the oldest center for the study of viruses in the world. There are 80 to 100 large animals on the island: alpacas, boars, cows, goats and sheep.

Source: The Local December 28, 2019 09:33 UTC