Riems is a very small island that can be reached via a dam, which can be closed off in case of an outbreak.
Due to these circumstances, Riems posed the perfect location for one of the most modern animal health research facilities in the world.
The Friedrich Loeffler Institute is directly subordinated to the German Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
Federal laws of Germany hold the FLI responsible for national and international animal disease control; it also poses the international reference lab for several viral diseases.
260 Million Euros are spent by the Federal Government to build new laboratories and barns.