Laboratory Surveillance System(2015)

Laboratory Surveillance System(2015)

The island-wide outbreak of enterovirus epidemic in Taiwan in 1998 exposed the inadequacy of our virology laboratories in both quality and quantity. Thus the Department of Health (DOH) has been establishing contract virology laboratoriesacross Taiwan since March 1999 and endeavors to improve Taiwan’s capacity virus testing and cultivate professionals in the field. Currently, contract laboratoriesare playing an important role in the monitoring of enterovirus and influenza viruses in communities. The laboratory surveillance targets mainly the prevalent types of enterovirus and influenza viruses to shed light on the activities of important virus strains in different seasons. Such information provides useful references in the formulation of epidemic prevention policies, and moreover, contributes to the construction of a valuable native viral genome database and a biomaterial database in Taiwan.