The Institute of Virology (IVSAS) is a prominent research institution of the Slovak Academy of Sciences with a long-lasting tradition in the basic research and postgraduate education of PhD students. The primary goal of the Institute is to perform a research in virology, microbiology, molecular and cell biology and oncology. The Department of Virus Ecology has been involved in epidemiological and pathogenic studies of tick-borne and rodent-borne viruses, has made several original contributions mainly to elucidation of virus ecology and collected an extensive collection of arbo- and zoonotic viruses. IVSAS has all the important facilities for the research in virology, including equipment for cell culture and P2 laboratories, equipment for basic molecular biology techniques incl. real-time PCR, access to flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, etc. Most importantly, laboratory and animal facility with P3 safety level conditions are present and enable work to be carried out with P3 viruses on cell cultures as well as in animal models.

Tasks:

IVSAS will provide its virus collection covering four different virus families of arboviruses and rodent-borne viruses. Besides the virus production, it will contribute to the virus characterization of the viruses in the frame of work packages JR1-3 and 8 and will lead the work package JR6 "Virus production P3".

Experience:

The personnel of the Department of Virus Ecology has an extensive experiences in handling arboviruses in cell cultures as well as animal models including ticks, in a broad spectrum of serological methods and in molecular epidemiology and evolution of hantaviruses.

Key staff members:

Dr. Boris Klempa is the head of the Department of Virus Ecology and will be the team leader in this project. His current research interests are the ecology, molecular evolution, and pathogenesis of rodent-borne viruses.

Dr. Elena Eleckova is a key staff member for the project who was in charge of virus collection maintenance also in the last two decades and has extensive experience in arboviruses handling and animal experiments.

References:

Klempa B, Schmidt HA, Ulrich R, Kaluz S, Labuda M, Meisel H, Hjelle B, Kruger DH (2003). Genetic Interaction between distinct Dobrava Hantavirus subtypes in Apodemus agrarius and A. flavicollis in Nature. J Virol 77, 804-809.

Klempa, B., Stanko, M., Labuda, M., Ulrich, R., Meisel, H., Kruger, D.H. (2005). Central European Dobrava Hantavirus Isolate from Striped Field Mouse, Apodemus agrarius. J Clin Microbiol, 43, 2756-2763.

Klempa B, Fichet-Calvet E, Lecompte E, Auste B, Aniskin V, Meisel H, Denys C, Koivogui L, Ter Meulen J, Kruger DH (2006) Hantavirus in African Wood Mouse, Guinea. Emerg Inf Dis 12, 838-840.

Labuda M, Trimnell AR, Lickovà M, Kazimi­rovà M, Davies GM, Lissina O, Hails RS, Nuttall PA (2006) An antivector vaccine protects against a lethal vector-borne pathogen. PLoS Pathog, 2, e27. Epub

Klempa, B., Fichet-Calvet, E., Lecompte, E., Auste, B., Aniskin, V., Meisel, H., Barriere, P., Koivogui, L., ter Meulen, J.,Kruger, D.H. (2007). Novel hantavirus sequences in Shrew, Guinea. Emerg Infect Dis, 13, 520-2.