Viral Hepatitis and Bloodborne Pathogens Section

The mandate of the Viral Hepatitis and Bloodborne Pathogens Section is to contribute to the monitoring, control and prevention of hepatitis infection through its activities in the area of reference services, surveillance, research and quality assurance. This laboratory also provides reference services for HHV-8.   The laboratory has initiated, and is continuing to enhance, a laboratory and strain identification protocol for HAV, HBV and HCV outbreak investigations.  Research interests for the section include the understanding of viral pathogenesis and prevalence and the development of potential new vaccines.