[The beginnings of animal virology in Germany]

Animal virology started in 1898 with the discovery of FMD virus. The finding resulted from a close collaboration between Friedrich Löffler (University of Greifswald) and Paul Frosch (then at Robert Koch's institute in Berlin). Their work in Greifswald was greatly hampered by the danger of dissemination of foot and mouth disease in the surroundings. Therefore Löffler proposed to set up a research unit on the Island of Riems in the Baltic Sea. In the Fall of 1910 work could start in the Research Institute Riems Island. A great foreward step was set when Löffler's successor, prof. Otto Waldmann, succeeded in 1920 in transmitting the infection to guinea pigs by intradermal inoculation in the hind pad. Under Waldmann's aegis the Riems developed into a full-fledged FMD research station. The most important achievement for veterinary medicine was the development of a vaccine in 1938 that proved efficient and safe. Today, the Riems laboratories form part of the Federal Research Centre for Virus Diseases of Animals, together with the Tübingen Unit.