World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses (WRCEVA)

What Services Does this Resource Provide?

The WRCEVA program maintains the Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses Reference Collection and provides reagents and support for investigations of virus outbreaks throughout the world. This international program identifies and characterizes numerous arboviruses and/or other suspected emerging viruses spread by mosquitoes, ticks, and other insects and animals to people and domestic animals. It also investigates the epidemiology of the diseases these viruses cause. The repository within the WRCEVA stores over 7,000 arthropod-borne, rodent-borne, and other zoonotic and human viruses, as well as complementary sera (e.g., hyperimmune mouse ascites fluids), diagnostic antigens, arthropod cell lines, and reagents (viral nucleic acids, infected/inactivated cell supernatants, etc).

The services are provided at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.​

Eligibility Criteria

• Investigators in academia, not-for-profit organizations, industry, and government worldwide may request WRCEVA services.
• Investigators and requesting institutions must be in compliance with all appropriate federal and state regulations for receipt of materials.

Assurances to Users

• All information provided to the contractor will be treated as confidential.
• Users must sign a Materials Transfer Agreement, a contractual agreement that governs the exchange of research materials and tools, and provide assurances that the investigator and requesting institution are in compliance with all appropriate federal and state regulations for receipt of materials.
• Descriptive information is provided along with the reagent (e.g., virus name, strain, source, titer, passage history).

Application and Approval Process

Applicants should email Dr. Patricia Repik (Program Officer), prepik@niaid.nih.gov, and Dr. Robert Tesh (Director, WRCEVA), rtesh@utmb.edu, with a brief description of research, reagent needs, and full contact information. Dr. Tesh will then consult with the requester and PO to provide the reagents that best match the investigator's needs and project goals.