Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology

26. June 2024

The laboratory is accredited by the Czech Accreditation Institute as a medical laboratory according to ČSN EN ISO 15189

Head: Vratislav Němeček, M.A., Ph.D.

• provides methodological guidance for field laboratories authorized to perform screening for HIV infection. It organizes one-day training for the laboratory staff, the completion of which is one of the prerequisites for obtaining the authorization of the Chief Public Health Officer of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic to perform HIV testing. It also organizes regular training in HIV/AIDS diagnosis for field laboratory staff;
• formulates principles of HIV/AIDS testing policies and guidelines for procedures for laboratory diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, including preventive testing in blood donors and pregnant women. It prepares test samples for the External Quality Assessment Scheme (EQAS) and analyzes the EQAS results achieved by more than 160 field laboratories, for which participation in the EQAS is obligatory;
• performs HIV confirmatory testing for subjects who were reactive when tested for HIV in field laboratories in the Czech Republic, including those of the Blood Transfusion Service. It is involved in the virological safety testing of blood and blood products intended for use in human medicine;
• detects new HIV/AIDS cases and monitors HIV/AIDS progression in HIV-infected individuals using molecular assays for the identification of viral nucleic acids, determines viral load in HIV-positive individuals, and performs antiviral susceptibility testing. The NRL performs HIV-1 subtyping of viral strains isolated in the Czech Republic for the needs of molecular epidemiology;
• monitors mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Any child born to an HIV-positive mother is followed up for HIV until the age of 18 months. It follows up occupational exposure to HIV in healthcare professionals as a result of accidental injury, and tests archived donor blood samples from blood donors who became HIV positive and pose a risk of HIV transmission via contaminated blood products;
• performs HIV/AIDS surveillance among exposed population groups (street workers engaging with commercial male and female sex workers and intravenous drug users – IDUs).
• provides accessible, free, and anonymous HIV/AIDS testing to individuals engaging in high-risk behavior who are unable to pay for testing;
• carries out epidemiological surveillance of HIV/AIDS in the Czech Republic (statistical analysis of data from the HIV/AIDS reporting system and submission of results to the European Surveillance System (TESSy) at the ECDC and WHO);
• issues monthly progress reports on HIV/AIDS incidence and testing methods in the Czech Republic for the needs of the Ministry of Health and other organizations. Selected progress diagrams are published monthly on websites;
• provides pregraduate and postgraduate training and education for healthcare professionals and lectures on HIV/AIDS (training courses for teachers at different schooling levels, HIV/AIDS counseling courses, etc.). Engages in publication activities;
• participates in the international quality control schemes of the Institute for Standardization and ocumentation in Medical Laboratories INSTAND e.V., Society for Promoting Quality Assurance in Medical Laboratories, Düsseldorf, Germany, and Quality Control for Molecular Diagnostics (QCMD);