[A virology laboratory of university hospital facing HIV - A French experience]

Virology department in a French University hospital has a triple mission of healthcare contribution within the framework of medical virology, teaching, and research. The emergence of HIV infection in the early 1980s led to an unprecedented development of its activity focused on the diagnosis of acute and chronic viral infections, their treatment with antivirals, viral safety, health crisis management, and the conservation of biological resources. This growth has been supported by major contemporary technological advances in lymphocyte culture, ELISA, western blotting, PCR gene amplification, and nucleotide sequencing. It has been made possible by the allocation of new resources to university hospital virology in terms of staff numbers, technical premises, dedicated laboratory equipment, and logistical resources. At the same time, applied research has developed, connected to both healthcare activities and basic research, benefiting from the support of clinicians, patient associations, and the ANRS. This also had a decisive impact on university and hospital teaching, as well as on collaborations with the diagnostic and pharmaceutical industries. The medical and scientific success of this development raises the question of its long-term permanence and its robustness in the face of current technical innovations and economic imperatives.