International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) authorizes and organizes the taxonomic classification of and the nomenclatures for viruses. The ICTV have developed a universal taxonomic-scheme for viruses, and means to describe, name, and classify every virus that affects living organisms. The members of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses are considered experts virologists. The ICTV was formed from and is governed by the Virology Division of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Detailed work, such as delimiting the boundaries of species within a family, typically is performed by study groups of experts in the families.