Division 5

All avian influenza (AI) virus isolates shall be submitted to the CRL in accordance with Community legislation. Viruses of H5/H7 subtype shall be submitted without delay and shall be subjected to the standard characterisation tests (nucleotide sequencing/IVPI) according to Directive 92/40/EEC. In addition, the CRL shall require that H5 or H7 positive sera collected from anseriformes be submitted ‘blind’ in order that an archive be established to facilitate future test development.