Bavaria strengthens infection protection

The importance of preventive infectious medicine has not only been clear since the coronavirus pandemic: New pathogens are emerging and more and more bacteria are developing resistance to common antibiotics. In order to better protect the population from infectious diseases, a new scientific institution began its work in Bavaria at the end of 2025: the Bavarian Centre for Preventive Infection Medicine (BZI).

Better protection against future health risks

In a press release at the end of December, Science Minister Markus Blume emphasised the importance of the new institution: "With the Bavarian Centre for Preventive Infection Medicine, we are making Bavaria more resistant to future health risks," he said. He continued: "Infectious diseases are omnipresent: from respiratory diseases to pneumonia and influenza. We are creating a dedicated facility in which all university medical centres and our university hospitals are permanently interlinked in the area of infection control.

Bavaria is providing around three million euros a year for this purpose. The aim is to create reliable structures so that "knowledge can be utilised more quickly, vaccinations can be better understood and risks can be recognised earlier", said Blume.

Funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, the centre networks all six Bavarian universities with a Faculty of Medicine, including Würzburg, Erlangen, Munich (LMU and TU), Regensburg and Augsburg, as well as university medicine and the public health service.

Goal: Better preparation for future health risks

The BZI aims to recognise infection risks as early as possible, quickly transfer scientific findings to healthcare and support evidence-based decisions in the healthcare system. The close cooperation between universities, clinics, the public health service, research institutions and other partners has created a coordinated, scientifically sound structure for preparing for future waves of infection and health risks for the first time in Bavaria. The centre is thus making an important contribution to pandemic prevention and modern public health strategies.

Representatives from all Bavarian university medical centres have jointly developed the scientific concept of the BZI, initiated by Professor Oliver Kurzai (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology) and Professor Klaus Überla (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute of Virology). In close cooperation with Universitätsmedizin Bayern e. V., a nationally harmonised structural model was developed that bundles and coordinates the strengths of the various institutions.

Three programme areas form the core of the centre

The BZI is divided into three central programme areas that shape the strategic orientation of the centre:

• Bavarian Surveillance Centre (BaySurv): Modern and continuous surveillance of relevant pathogens, including molecular analytics and data-based evaluation.
• Bavarian Vaccine Centre (BayVak): Research on vaccines, vaccination strategies, clinical studies and science-based communication on all aspects of vaccination.
• First cross-sectional project: Bavarian Long COVID Register (BAY-LCR): Systematic recording and scientific investigation of post-acute infection syndromes such as Long COVID.

These three programme areas form the basis for a coordinated and scientifically sound prevention strategy against infectious diseases in Bavaria.

Website published

With the new website www.BZI-bayern.de, the centre presents its programme areas, projects and current developments in a bundled format for the first time. The platform offers an insight into how the BZI came into being, current projects and contact options, and makes information on research, networking and activities at the BZI publicly accessible.