The National Public Health Center (Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ) is a central governmental office in Hungary with nation-wide competence, and is responsible for developing and controlling the national public health programs in the field of public health microbiology, environmental and settlement health, radiohygiene and chemical safety, health development and occupational health. The main responsibilities of National Public Health Center in the field of microbiology encompass clinical and epidemiological microbiology, supporting and providing reference laboratory background to public health authorities, operating the national microbiology surveillance center and the National Biosafety Laboratory (biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories, BSL-3/4), 17 microbiological National Reference Laboratories, conducting basic and applied research, training public health officers and medical postgraduates, organizing external quality assurance and participating in professional codification procedures.

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ERINHA (European Research Infrastructure on Highly Pathogenic Agents) is a Pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure dedicated to study highly infectious emerging and remerging diseases classified as Risk Group 4 bringing together European high containment and complementary research facilities and expertise required to perform cutting-edge research in shorter timeframes, was conceived to respond to these needs. ERINHA provides different services: transnational access to BSL-4 and complementary facilities; advice and scientific expertise provider; training; other additional services such as access to pathogen specimens.

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The National Biosafety Laboratory is the only functioning high containment public health biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratory working with risk group 3/4 (RG3/4) pathogens of public health importance and bioterrorism in Central Europe. The National Biosafety Laboratory consists of two independently operating parts: the BSL-3+ laboratory for the RG-3 pathogens with a two-person glove-box and the BSL-4 suit-based laboratory for the RG4 agents. Broad spectra of methods are established and used in the National Biosafety Laboratory from the molecular techniques, through versatile classical methods (e.g. in-vitro and in-vivo isolation, neutralization tests, serological tests, antibiotic susceptibility test) to new cutting-edge techniques (MALDI-TOF, whole genome sequencing with bioinformatic analysis).
National Biosafety Laboratory is assigned to represent Hungary serving as a national node in the ERINHA by the Governmental Decree 1543/2017 (VII.18).

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