30 years since the first AIDS cases were reported: history and the present
Part III.

Overview

The end of the article features the development of HIV/AIDS diagnosis and its implementation in the Czech Republic. The establishment of the National Reference Laboratory for AIDS (NRL AIDS) at the National Institute of Public Health late in1985 is mentioned and its responsibilities as the methodology centre in the areas of HIV/AIDS laboratory diagnosis and epidemiology are specified. In cooperation with the respective experts, a pilot HIV/AIDS prevalence study was conducted in the Czech Republic. The general criteria for HIV/AIDS laboratory diagnosis were set for both blood transfusion service and microbiology laboratories. Early in 1987, mass screening of blood donors was introduced in blood transfusion centres and in the second half of the same year, the HIV screening program was extended to selected microbiology laboratories. The NRL AIDS established a unified data reporting system, analyzed the results at the national level, and since 1989, has been reporting the outcomes to the international AIDS, and later HIV/AIDS, reporting system. The NRL AIDS also participated in a number of international projects in the areas of the research and development of laboratory techniques and epidemiological surveillance.

Key words:
HIV/AIDS – laboratory diagnosis – screening – confirmatory tests – epidemiological surveillance – blood donor testing