The NVI has overall diagnostic responsibility for a number of animal diseases, infectious agents and analytes from animals, food and feed.
Accredited tests/examinations
The NVI became accredited in April 1998 and has ever since worked continuously in maintaining and evolving a uniform quality system for the entire organisation. Please find information about NVI accredited methods on this link.
A digital pricelist is currently developed, and when ready, all accredited methods will be marked with a star.
National Reference Laboratory (NRL)
The NVI is NRL for about 30 different topics in fish and animal diseases, antibiotic resistance, pathogens in feed and food (such as Salmonella and Listeria), parasites, mycotoxins and GMOs. Many activities at NVI originate from these NRL functions.
NRLs play an important role in ensuring compliance with EU regulations on official control of feed and food, animal health and animal welfare. The Regulations require that analyses carried out in official control comply with the given quality requirements. In order to verify compliance with these quality requirements, each EU and EFTA member state designates one or more NRLs (one expert in each NRL) for each relevant area of competence. For each topic, one of the EU member states becomes the European Reference Laboratory, EURL. The experts of the member countries' reference laboratories constitute a network of competence.
The purpose of NRLs is to harmonise analytical work in order to achieve comparable results of high quality.
Norwegian laboratories have to forward samples/isolates to NVI for verification/confirmation of infectious agents under the NRL responsibility..
For the NRL area of competence, the NVI is responsible for coordinating activities and keeping up to date with the epidemiological situation in the country.
- More about NRL
NRL shall:
- collaborate with EURL (attend workshop, method development, comparative tests)
- coordinate, for their area of competence, the activities of laboratories that analyse samples taken for official control and according to regulation verify positive findings / confirm diagnosis
- where appropriate, organise comparative tests and ensure follow-ups on the results
- ensure the dissemination of information from EURL to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and to laboratories that analyse samples taken for official control
- assist the Norwegian Food Safety Authority with scientific and technical assistance in the planning and implementation of surveillance programs.
- Contact persons for diseases / infectious agents/analytes
Email addresses for the NRL contact persons along with information about which laboratory is the EURL for the area of competence are given below:
Animal diseases and animal welfare
- Fish and crustacean diseases - kari.nordheim@vetinst.no - DTU
- Classical swine fever - britt.gjerset@vetinst.no - Institutes für Virologie der Tierärztlichen Hochschule Hannover
- African swine fever - ragnhild.tonnessen@vetinst.no - CISA
- Avian influenza and Newcastle disease - britt.gjerset@vetinst.no and johanna.hol.fosse@vetinst.no - IZSVE
- African horse sickness and Bluetounge - britt.gjerset@vetinst.no - LCV
- Equine diseases (other than African Horse Sickness) – jorunn.mork@vetinst.no - ANSES
- Foot-and-mouth disease - siv.klevar@vetinst.no - ANSES
- Bovine tuberculosis - girum.tessema@vetinst.no - VISAVET
- Brucellosis - ane-mohr.osland@vetinst.no - ANSES
- Rabies - irene.orpetveit@vetinst.no - ANSES
- Anthrax – ane-mohr.osland@vetinst.no
- Peste des petits ruminants - britt.gjerset@vetinst.no – CIRAD
- Capripox-virus – britt.gjerset@vetinst.no – SCIANSANO
- Rift Valley Fever – siv.klevar@vetinst.no
Feed and food
- Milk and milk products - julie.johnsen@vetinst.no
- Zoonoses (Salmonella) - bjarne.bergsjo@vetinst.no - RIVM
- Listeria monocytogenes - taran.skjerdal@vetinst.no - ANSES
- Coagulase positive Staphylococci, including Staphylococccus aureus - taran.skjerdal@vetinst.no - ANSES
- E. coli (including VTEC) - gro.johannessen@vetinst.no - ISS
- Campylobacter - bjarne.bergsjo@vetinst.no - SVA
- Parasites - inger.hamnes@vetinst.no - ISS
- Antimicrobial resistance - jannice.schau-slettemeas@vetinst.no - DTU
- TSE - sylvie.benestad@vetinst.no - IZSTO
- GMO - bjorn.spilsberg@vetinst.no - JRC
- Mycotoxins and plant toxins - lada.ivanova@vetinst.no - WFSR.
- NRL requisition form
Form for submission of bacterial cultures to NRL for testing/ verification of strains with suspicion of:
- Salmonella spp.
- Campylobacter spp.
- Mycobacteria
- E. coli
- Listeria spp.
- Brucella spp.
- Coagulase Positive Staphylococci
- Staphylococcus enterotoxins
- Any others
Download the NRL requisition form (in Norwegian only)
For any questions regarding NVI’s quality system and accreditation, please contact Quality Manager Kerstin Nordby.