“I try to look at the big picture. The mosquitoes that we study in VECTORIE have spread from tropical countries to Europe as a result of climate changes and international air transport”, says Ab Osterhaus, Head of the Department of Viroscience at Erasmus MC. Prof. Osterhaus is one of the most successful virologists in the world.

Prof. Osterhaus explains: “We focus on two viruses: West Nile virus and Chikungunya virus. These are both transmitted by mosquitoes. We study what factors influence the mosquitoes’ capacity to act as a transmitter (=vector), how the viruses cause disease in humans, and how we can develop new vaccines to prevent infections.”