his institute on the island of Riems in 1910. The Third Reich used the institute in Riems to research bioweapons. While East Germany controlled Riems approximately 800 people were working on vaccine research and development, today there are less than half that number. The population on the island is quite small. There are only 13 houses, five one- or two-family homes and eight apartment buildings, with a total of 62 residential units. Since 1997, the research complex is the headquarters of the Riemser Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI). The duties of the FLI include research on animal diseases, such as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, foot-and-mouth disease and swine fever, and the development of preventive and protective measures against it, especially veterinary vaccines. As of 2006, Riems was working on a vaccine for the avian flu. By 2010, the Institute was to reduce their current locations Tübingen, Wusterhausen and Jena to just Jena and Riems. The total budget for the expansion work is some 150 million €. The construction needed to be handled carefully because of the historically rich old buildings. The former production plant for animal vaccines was successfully privatized as Riemser Arzneimittel AG. It has about 150 employees. After the 1990s the populated area in the western part of the island was freely accessible for some years. However, because of the renewed research work with viruses the island is again closed to the public. Quarantine stables and laboratories security levels are level 4. This means employees and visitors to the complex must change their clothes, and shower, when entering and exiting. See also Erich Traub Kurt Blome References External links Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut http://www.wassersport-im-bodden.de/ Bay of Greifswald German islands in the Baltic Islands of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Pomerania