Diagnostic Research

The Diagnostic Department of the Virological Institute covers a wide spectrum of viruses in animals with its range of tests. These include various herpes, pox, adeno-, papilloma, corona and rotaviruses, influenza A, bluetongue virus and other pathogens. By means of Next Generation Sequencing, infections with novel viruses can also be detected, which are not covered by conventional methods such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). 

The daily work in diagnostics and the function as a national reference laboratory for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR, BoHV-1) and Aujeszky's disease (SuHV-1) regularly give rise to questions that are to be examined in greater detail in the context of master's or doctoral theses. In the projects, (sero-)prevalences are determined, disease courses are followed, disease associations with specific viruses are investigated, new diagnostic tests are established and validated or existing methods are evaluated and optimized.