National Virus Reference Laboratory

The NVRL was initial established to support the diagnosis and treatment of poliovirus. ==COVID-19==

The developing and delivering of testing of Ireland was led by the staff in NVRL. 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. The NVRL played a vital role in the early detection of COVID-19 cases in Ireland. 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. ==Influenza==

NVRL is the WHO-recognised National Influenza Centre (NIC) for the Republic of Ireland. The NVRL is a key contributor to data on seasonal influenza surveillance 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. ==HIV==

The NVRL performs confirmatory testing on all new HIV diagnoses in Ireland. ==References==