Sciensano is a
research institute and the
national public health institute of
Belgium. It is a so-called federal
scientific institution that operates under the authority of the federal
minister of Public Health and the federal
minister of Agriculture of Belgium. Sciensano's
core business is scientific
research in the fields of
public health,
animal health and
food safety. Sciensano arose in 2018 from the merger of the former Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre (in
Dutch: Centrum voor Onderzoek in Diergeneeskunde en Agrochemie, in
French: Centre d’Étude et de Recherches Vétérinaires et Agrochimiques, often shortened to CODA-CERVA) and the former Scientific Institute of Public Health (in Dutch: Wetenschappelijk Instituut Volksgezondheid, in French: Institut Scientifique de Santé Publique, often shortened to WIV-ISP). Both institutions were merged because of their complementary activities and to be able to provide a comprehensive answer to the health challenges of the future. More particularly, the merger was based on the
One Health principle that states that the areas of human health, animal health and the
environment are inherently connected with each other. The merger became official on April 1, 2018.[1][2]
Quality of medical laboratories: Sciensano is responsible for the inspection and certification of
medical laboratories in Belgium, especially with regard to
samples of human origin. It supervises the correct handling of sample material and the use of standardised
analytical methods, and provides external
quality assurance.[3]
^"About Sciensano". www.sciensano.be. Sciensano. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
^
abcdefg"Levenslang gezond" [Healthy all life long] (PDF). www.sciensano.be (in Dutch). Sciensano. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.