WOAH Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue
The WOAH Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue carries out diagnostic, scientific training, and research activities at both national and international levels. It supports the national surveillance network for the disease and provides assistance to other WOAH Member Countries. It also promotes targeted training on Bluetongue through internships for personnel from Italian and foreign institutions, with the aim of strengthening diagnostic capacities.
In 2005, the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale” was designated as the WOAH (formerly OIE) Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue, receiving a prestigious international scientific recognition. WOAH Reference Laboratories form a global network of technical and scientific excellence, distributed across all continents. Specifically, the WOAH Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue is committed to:
- Using and promoting the use of validated diagnostic methods in accordance with WOAH standards.
- Producing and preserving specific reference materials required for the diagnosis and control of Bluetongue, in compliance with WOAH standards, and providing such materials to national laboratories upon request.
- Developing, standardizing, and validating new diagnostic and control procedures for Bluetongue, in line with WOAH standards.
- Providing diagnostic and technical-scientific support to other WOAH Member Countries.
- Conducting and coordinating scientific and technical studies on Bluetongue in collaboration with other laboratories, centers, and organizations.
- Collecting, processing, analyzing, and disseminating epidemiological data and information related to Bluetongue.
- Providing, within its field of expertise, scientific and technical training to personnel from other WOAH Member Countries.
- Ensuring good laboratory practices, quality standards, and appropriate biosafety measures for handling Bluetongue virus and potentially infectious materials.
- Organizing and participating in scientific events on behalf of WOAH.
- Establishing and maintaining a collaborative network with other WOAH Reference Laboratories for Bluetongue, and regularly participating in and organizing inter-laboratory proficiency testing exercises, including with non-WOAH laboratories, to assess and ensure the accuracy and consistency of diagnostic testing.
- Making its experts available to WOAH for consultancy purposes, and organizing or participating in national and international conferences and training events.
In parallel with serological and molecular surveillance activities, including entomological monitoring of Culicoides vectors, the Laboratory is continuously engaged in a wide range of research activities aimed at investigating and deepening the understanding of Bluetongue epidemiology and geographic distribution, molecular biology, vector-virus-host interactions, and the development of new vaccines.
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Designation 2005 OIE Reference Laboratory Bluetongue(26 KB)
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Giovanni Savini
Head
Giovanni Savini was born in Rome in 1960. After earning a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Milan in 1986, he began his career in the Serology Unit of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Abruzzo and Molise, where he initiated important collaborations with international institutions. In 1989, he moved to Australia, where he spent four years studying the epidemiological, clinical, pathological and laboratory aspects of protozoal diseases in various animal species. At the end of this period, he obtained a PhD from Murdoch University in Western Australia.
Giovanni Savini was born in Rome in 1960. After earning a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Milan in 1986, he began his career in the Serology Unit of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Abruzzo and Molise, where he initiated important collaborations with international institutions. In 1989, he moved to Australia, where he spent four years studying the epidemiological, clinical, pathological and laboratory aspects of protozoal diseases in various animal species. At the end of this period, he obtained a PhD from Murdoch University in Western Australia.
In 1994, Savini returned to the Institute in Teramo, where he served as Head of the Virology Unit from 1999 to 2024. Under his leadership, the Unit launched numerous research projects funded by the Italian government and the European Commission, collaborating with major international research institutions. In 1998, he specialised in Animal Health, Livestock Hygiene and Animal Production at the University of Pisa, with a focus on infectious diseases in farm animals. In 2005, thanks to his scientific and managerial expertise, he was appointed Head of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue.
His research primarily focuses on viral vector-borne diseases of veterinary importance, such as Bluetongue, African Horse Sickness and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease. He also works on diseases with potential public health implications, including Rift Valley Fever, West Nile and Usutu. He has contributed as an expert to numerous scientific working groups set up by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), at the request of the European Commission. In November 2014, he was the scientific coordinator of the Fourth International Conference on Bluetongue, held in Rome.
Since 2010, Savini has been a member of the Community Veterinary Emergency Team, the European Commission’s task force for responding to animal health emergencies in Europe and third countries. Since 2018, he has been Head of the Animal Health Laboratory. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Veterinaria Italiana from September 2012 to February 2025 and as Medical Director of the Institute from 4 July 2014 to 9 February 2017.Since 16 March 2020, he has coordinated SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic activities at IZS-Teramo. As of 1 January 2023, he is Head of the European Union Reference Laboratory for Rift Valley Fever, working with national laboratories in EU Member States to harmonise methods and diagnostic techniques, and providing training on their use. He also liaises with the European Commission to provide technical and scientific support.
He is the author of over 230 scientific publications on infectious diseases in domestic animals, with a particular focus on vector-borne diseases.
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