National Influenza Reference Laboratory of Southern Greece

The National Influenza Reference Laboratory of Southern Greece (NIRLSG) is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and belongs to the WHO’s Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) and the European Network of Reference Laboratories for Influenza (ERLI-Net) coordinated by the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC). The NIRLSG works in close collaboration with the National Public Health Organization (NPHO) on the influenza surveillance project.

The NIRLSG is responsible for the laboratory surveillance of seasonal influenza in S. Greece. Each winter period, clinical specimens from Influenza-Like-Illness patients collected by the Sentinel System physicians, or from hospitalized patients and patients in intensive care units are tested. Tasks of the NIRLSG include the detection, isolation in cell culture systems, typing and subtyping of circulating influenza viruses. The matching of the circulating seasonal influenza strains to the vaccine strains is investigated by antigenic and genetic methods. The susceptibility of the influenza viruses to the neuraminidase inhibitors antiviral drugs is monitored by biochemical and genetic methods. The circulation of other respiratory viruses during the winter period such as respiratory syncytial and parainfluenza, adenovirus, respiratory enterovirus, metapneumovirus, and boca is investigated.  Finally, the laboratory in responsible for the detection of emerging respiratory viruses such as MERS CoV, influenza A(H7N9) virus and pandemic influenza viruses.

Eur. J. Clin. Microb., 2017; Euro. Surveil., 2016; J. Med. Virol., 2016; Antiv. Res., 2016; J. Clin. Microb., 2015; Other Res. Virus., 2014; Euro. Survei.,l 2014)