The Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) could act as an authority on testing avian influenza virus from now onwards, since the institute has been designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as its recognized H5 reference laboratory for South East Asia region.

With the approval of WHO, the samples of avian influenza virus tested in NIV's laboratory at Pune would be accepted by international community without further verification, informed NIV sources.

The recognition, received by the institute in the beginning of this month, was awarded after critical review of the capacity and infrastructure for three days in Pune by a team of international experts appointed and sponsored by WHO. The international experts' team consisted of heads of collaborating centres in US, UK, Japan and influenza coordinators at WHO headquarters and WHO, South East Asia Region office, according to sources.

"With this recognition NIV is also expected to play a major role in Influenza surveillance and research not only in India but also in the region," said the institute spokesperson in an announcement. Earlier, it was mandatory to refer human samples to one of the four collaborating centres located in US, UK, Japan and Australia or to one of H5 laboratories in Hong Kong, Germany or Egypt.

In 2006, when the country faced one of the major threats of avian influenza outbreak, the Union Health Ministry assigned the NIV along with the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Delhi, as the nodal agency to investigate the onset of the disease.

The NIV, formed in 1952 as Virus Research Centre (VRC), under the joint auspices of the ICMR and the Rockefeller Foundation, for investigations on the arthropod-borne group of viruses is also currently conducting studies on AIDS, rotavirus gastroenteritis, acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis, rabies, herpes sirnplex, buffalo pox, measles and poliomyelitis. Re-designated as the NIV in 1978, the institute is working as the national monitoring centre for Influenza, Japanese encephalitis, Rota, Measles and Hepatitis.

The institute has also been identified by WHO as its collaborating centre for arbovirus and haemorrhagic fever reference and research and rapid diagnosis of viral diseases since 1995.