The NVRL provides a diagnostic and reference service for clinicians in Ireland investigating viral infections.
The laboratory is accredited by the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) to undertake testing as detailed in the Schedule bearing the Registration Number 326MT, in compliance with the International Standard ISO/IEC 15189:2012 3rd Edition “Medical laboratories - Requirements for quality and competence.”[1] The NVRL was initial established to support the diagnosis and treatment of poliovirus.
With the acquisition of the sequence of the virus, they used this to develop and validate in-house assays in advance of obtaining any commercial diagnostic kits.
[3] Dr Cillian de Gascun, Consultant Virologist and Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory is Chair of the Expert Advisory Group on COVID-19 in Ireland.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) in partnership with the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) and NVRL have established a network of 60 computerised general sentinel practices who report on a weekly basis the number of patients seen with influenza-like illness.