2025: From Newborn Screening to Data Intelligence, the LNS Reflects on a Year Dedicated to Public Health

How can a rare disease be detected before the first symptoms appear? How can the exchange of medical data between healthcare institutions be streamlined? How can the spread of an emerging virus be monitored? And how can forensic investigations be enhanced through advanced imaging?

Throughout 2025, the Laboratoire national de santé (LNS) continued to develop practical solutions to address these challenges. The 2025 Annual Report presents the institution’s key achievements over the past year and highlights the advances that have strengthened its role in diagnostics, public health, medical expertise and scientific support within Luxembourg’s healthcare system.

Expertise Continuously Evolving

The LNS continued to expand its activities in diagnostics, medical expertise, research and public health surveillance while supporting the ongoing evolution of Luxembourg’s healthcare system.

Among the year’s key milestones were the adoption of the law officially recognising the profession of genetic counsellor, the preparation for the expansion of the national newborn screening programme through the introduction of screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), the launch of Luxembourg’s first national human biomonitoring survey, and the installation of a CT scanner dedicated to forensic medicine.

Six Projects Showcasing the Work of the LNS

This year’s report places a special focus on six flagship projects, each presented through a short video available in the digital version of the report.

These videos take viewers behind the scenes of the LNS scientific departments and give the floor to the teams driving these initiatives.

Readers will discover:

• Medical Biology: the introduction of newborn screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), a major advancement enabling the early detection of a rare but life-threatening disease, significantly improving outcomes for affected newborns.
• National Center of Genetics: the digitalisation of the clinical genetics pathway through the Defgen platform, improving coordination between healthcare professionals, enhancing data quality and facilitating patient follow-up.
• National Center of Pathology: the development of interoperability between the LNS and the Hôpitaux Robert Schuman (HRS), enabling secure and automated exchange of medical data as a first step towards an increasingly connected healthcare system.
• Microbiology: the detection and sequencing of the MPOX virus, illustrating the LNS’s essential role in genomic surveillance of infectious diseases and in supporting public health authorities.
• Legal Medicine: the installation of a post-mortem CT scanner, complementing traditional autopsies and enhancing the accuracy of forensic investigations.
• Health Protection: the launch of LëtzHBM, Luxembourg’s first national human biomonitoring survey, designed to better understand the population’s exposure to chemicals present in the everyday environment.

A Report Offering Insight into the Mission of the LNS

Beyond presenting activity figures, the 2025 Annual Report highlights the people behind the institution, the major milestones that shaped the year, and the projects helping to build the medicine of tomorrow.

Through this new edition, the LNS aims to provide a tangible overview of its role within Luxembourg’s healthcare system and to illustrate the diversity of its missions, ranging from specialised diagnostics and public health surveillance to legal medicine, genetics, pathology and health protection.

Dr Thomas Dentzer, Director of the Laboratoire national de santé:

“The year 2025 fully reflects our ambition to continuously improve diagnostic and medical services and our commitment to public health. Behind each project presented in this report are dedicated teams developing practical solutions to improve diagnosis, strengthen prevention, support healthcare professionals, and address today’s and tomorrow’s public health challenges.”

The 2025 Annual Report is available online at: https://annual-report.lns.lu/2025/

For media enquiries or further information, please contact:

Noémie JOLIVET
Head of Communication
T: +352 28 100 306
E: noemie.jolivet@lns.etat.lu