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    Centre National de Référence pour les Infections Virales Emergentes (National Reference Center for Emerging Viral Infections)

    [Declared in accordance with Form A Part 2(iii)]

    2. Responsible public or private organization or company: 
    Virology Laboratory, University Hospitals of Geneva
    3. Location and postal address
    Centre National de Référence pour les Infections Virales Emergentes, Laboratoire de Virologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Rue Gabrielle Perret-Gentil 4, CH-1205 Genève, Switzerland
    4. Source(s) of financing of the reported activity, including indication if the activity is wholly or partly financed by the Ministry of Defence

    Swiss Confederation (Federal Department of Home Affairs)

    5. Number of maximum containment units5 within the research centre and/or laboratory, with an indication of their respective size (SqM):
    BL 4 , 36.00 SqM
    Of note, the BSL4 unit is operational and holds a license for diagnostic purposes only, as follows: “Detection of viruses in clinical samples by molecular and/or serological methods”.
    BL 3 , 39.00 SqM
    BL 2 , 29.00 SqM
    6. Scope and general description of activities, including type(s) of micro-organisms and/or toxins as appropriate

    The National Reference Center for Emerging Viral Diseases (CRIVE/NAVI) is a national reference laboratory by order of the Federal Office of Public Health. Its task is the detection of emerging and re-emerging viruses of all biosafety levels, especially hemorrhagic fever viruses and smallpox virus. The BSL4 unit is approved for diagnostic purposes only, which does not allow any culturing or enrichment of such viruses. The National Reference Center for Emerging Viral Diseases is part of the Laboratory of Virology (LV) at the University Hospitals of Geneva. Since January 1st, 2018, the CRIVE acts also as WHO National Center for Measles and Rubella.

    Since the beginning of 2020, the CRIVE has been performing about 200’000 SARS-CoV-2 screening PCR and many thousands serologies. Currently, the CRIVE also performs Sanger and NGS sequencing on SARS-CoV-2 genomes for identification of “UK and South Africa” mutants.

    The LV performs the analysis of many viruses impacting the human health as done in most of the hospitals (HIV, Hepatitis, CMV, EBV, respiratory and enteric viruses, etc.). LV does most of the viral analysis needed by an university hospital.

    LV also hosts the Swiss National Center for Influenza.

    For further information please visit (website in French):
    https://www.hug-ge.ch/laboratoire-virologie

    (4) For facilities with maximum containment units participating in the national biological defence research and development programme, please fill in name of facility and mark "Declared in accordance with Form A, part 2 (iii)".

    (5) In accordance with the latest edition of the WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual, or equivalent.

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