The National Reference Laboratory for Poliomyelitis and Enteroviruses at the Institute of Virology, Vaccines, and Sera “Torlak” conducts virological surveillance of Poliovirus for the needs of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro.
The status of the national reference laboratory was obtained by the Decision on Reference Laboratories for the Control of Infectious Diseases issued by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia in 2009, entrusting it with the responsibility to monitor the circulation of Poliovirus in our country.
Since 1998, it has been a member of the Global Polio Laboratory Network of the World Health Organization, participating annually in the mandatory accreditation process.
In 2002, the World Health Organization declared the European region a polio-free region. To maintain the polio-free status of the country and to contribute to the global eradication of poliomyelitis, “Torlak” Institute conducts virological surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP).
The Poliomyelitis Eradication Strategy 2022–2026 (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240031937)
emphasizes the importance of rapid detection of the poliovirus.
The National Reference Laboratory for Poliomyelitis and Enteroviruses performs the following tasks:
- Isolation of Poliovirus in cell culture and identification of isolates from patients with acute flaccid paralysis
- Isolation of non-polio enteroviruses in cell culture and identification of isolates from patients with other diseases of possible enteroviral etiology
- Neutralization test to determine the presence of virus-neutralizing antibodies to Coxsackie B viruses B1 – B5 in patient serum
- Providing advice and consultations to clinical microbiologists and physicians regarding the implementation of surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis, diagnostic issues, or lack of information
- Submitting test results and basic epidemiological data to central epidemiological surveillance services
- Reporting to the World Health Organization on the circulation of polio and non-polio viruses in the territories of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro
You can view the laboratory testing referral form here.
