The duties of the ASF CRL are recorded in the Council Directive 2002/60/EC, Annex V and include: 

(a) to coordinate, in consultation with the Commission, the methods employed in the Member States for diagnosing African swine fever, specifically by:

• storing and supplying cell cultures for use in diagnosis,

• supplying standardized sera, conjugate sera and other reference reagents to the national laboratories in order to standardize the tests and reagents employed in the Member States,

• building up and holding an African swine fever virus collection,

• organizing periodic comparative tests of diagnostic procedures at Community level,

• collecting and collating data and information on the methods of diagnosis used and the results of tests carried out,

• characterizing isolates of the virus by the most up-to-date methods available to allow greater understanding of the epizootiology of African swine fever,

• keeping abreast of developments in African swine fever surveillance, epizootiology and prevention throughout the world,

retaining expertise on the virus causing African swine fever and other pertinent viruses to enable rapid differential diagnosis;

(b) to make the necessary arrangements for training or re-training experts in laboratory diagnosis with a view to harmonising diagnostic techniques;

(c) to have trained personnel available for emergency situations occurring within the Community;

(d) to perform research activities and whenever possible coordinate research activities directed towards an improved control of African swine fever;

(e) to draw up technical protocols relating to procedures to verify the efficacy of disinfectants against the African swine virus.