Activities

The activities of the Division of Public Health are defined in Art. 8 of the Austrian Health and Food Safety Act (GESG):

• These tasks involve examinations, diagnoses and assessments for the control of communicable diseases in accordance with the relevant legal provisions, as well as the monitoring and investigation of other communicable and non-communicable infectious diseases
• The operation of reference centres and a reporting, coverage and coordination system for the monitoring of epidemic diseases, as well as the control of communicable diseases
• The control and prevention of infectious human diseases (including zoonoses), in particular with the assistance of hygienic-microbiological, serological and chemo-physical examinations, the coverage of antibiotics resistances, immunity data and epidemiological basis data, and developing vaccination, therapy and eradication recommendations
• Quality assurance, in particular by developing quality criteria for microbiological laboratories, the validation of in-vitro diagnostics and the assessment of sterilisation, disinfection and cleaning of medical products
• The compiling of data for bathing waters
• The provision of laboratory capacities for crisis and emergency situations
• Professional cooperation with national and international organisations

Institutes

Institute for Medical Microbiology & Hygiene, Graz, Centre for Foodborne Infectious Diseases
Institute for Medical Microbiology & Hygiene, Vienna
Institute for Hydroanalytik, Linz

Products and Services

Focus

• Human microbiology
• Food microbiology/ Food assessment
• General microbiology and hygiene/sterility testing for pharmaceutical products
• Core Unit Molecular Biology
• Veterinary microbiology
• Department for Water Inspection
• Radioactivity monitoring (radiological emergency planning)

National Reference Centres

• Reference Laboratory for Antibiotic Resistances
• Reference Centre for Campylobacter and Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter in Food and Feedstuffs
• Reference Centre for Meningococci
• Reference Centre for Pneumococci
• Reference Centre for Haemophilus influenzae
• Reference Centre for Noroviruses
• Reference Centre for Shigella
• Reference Centre and Reference Laboratory for Salmonella
• Reference Centre for Botulism
• Reference Laboratory for Coagulase-Positive Staphylococci, including staphylococcus aureus
• Reference Centre and Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli, including verotoxin-producing e. coli
• Reference Centre for Yersinia

Focus

• Maintenance of the EU Bathing Water Data Base
• Diagnostic of highly pathogenic organisms/intentional release
• Rabies information centre

National Reference Centres

• Reference Centre for Clostridium Difficile
• Reference Centre for Cholera
• Reference Centre for Diphtheria
• Reference Centre for Influenzae Epidemiology
• Reference Centre for Legionella
• Reference Centre for Listeriosis
• Reference Centre for Plague
• Reference Centre for Polio
• Reference Centre for SARS Epidemiology
• Reference Centre for Tuberculosis

Focus

As an accredited inspection centre according to EN ISO/IEC 17020:

• Inspections of drinking water facilities (ÖNORM M 5874) with official assessments
• Inspections of swimming pools, jacuzzis and small bathing ponds according to the Austrian Ordinance for Public Swimming Pools and Bathing Waters, as amended

As an accredited examination centre according to EN ISO/IEC 17025:

• Drinking water according to the Austrian Drinking Water Ordinance
• Mineral and table water
• Bathing water (outdoor and indoor pools, therapy pools etc.) according to Austrian Ordinance for Public Swimming Pools and Bathing Waters
• Bathing waters (small bathing ponds and biotopes)
• Water for medico-pharmaceutical uses (dialysis water, ultrapure water acc. to PharmEU, steam sterilisers)
• Microbiology (examinations of faecal indicator bacteria, legionella in warm water areas, bathing ponds…)
• Process water (heating and cooling water, boiler supply water)
• Chemical special analytics (heavy metals, PAH, chlorinated hydrocarbons etc.)
• Residues of plant protection products (pesticide agents and metabolites)

 In non-accreditation fields:

• Functionality tests of water treatment plants (water softening, iron removal and disinfection facilities) and
• Expertises for mixability (of different water quality levels)

Note: the Examination Centre received its accreditation as an Examination Laboratory on the date the Ordinance came into force on 5th July 2006, according to EN ISO/IEC 17025 for the test scope defined in the related official decision and listed under  http://www.bmwfw.gv.at/TechnikUndVermessung/Akkreditierung.

The Type A Inspection Centre received its accreditation on the date the Ordinance came into force on 19th September 2007 according to EN ISO/IEC 17020 with the identification number 240 for the test scope defined in the related official decision and listed under http://www.bmwfw.gv.at/TechnikUndVermessung/Akkreditierung.

Both were accredited by Akkreditierung Austria (the Accreditation Body of Austria) /the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science, Research and Economy.

Accreditation as Conformity Assessment Body (PSID 240) by Akkreditierung Austria (EN ISO/IEC 17025, EN ISO/IEC 17020).