The Istituto G. Caporale was acknowledge by the OIE as a Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis (1993), as a Reference Laboratory for Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (1993), as a Reference Laboratory for Bluetongue (2005), and as a Reference Laboratory for West Nile Disease (2010).

OIE Reference Laboratories are designated to pursue all the scientific and technical problems relating to the OIE listed diseases. They act as centres of expertise and standardisation of diagnostic techniques for their designated disease. Their leaders are internationally acknowledged scientists helping the Reference Laboratory to provide scientific and technical assistance and expert advice on topics linked to surveillance and control of the disease which the Reference Laboratory is responsible for. They may also provide scientific and technical training for personnel from Member Countries, and coordinate scientific and technical studies in collaboration with other laboratories or organisations.

The OIE has a worldwide network of Reference Laboratories with experts who cover diseases in various countries.

Reference Laboratories of the OIE shall have as their principal mandate:

• to function as a centre of expertise and standardisation for a designated disease(s) or topics;
• to store and distribute to national laboratories biological reference products and any other reagents used in the diagnosis and control of the designated disease(s) or topics;
• to develop new procedures for diagnosis and control of the designated disease(s) or topics;
• to gather, process, analyse and disseminate epizootiological data relevant to their speciality;
• to place expert consultants at the disposal of the OIE.

They may also contribute to:

• provision of scientific and technical training for personnel from Member Countries of the OIE;
• provision of diagnostic testing facilities to Member Countries:

In the case of results that are confirmed positive for diseases that are reportable to OIE, the Reference Laboratory should immediately inform the OIE Delegate of the Member Country from which the samples originated as well as the OIE Central Bureau;

• organisation of scientific meetings on behalf of the OIE;
• coordination of scientific and technical studies in collaboration with other laboratories or organisations;
• publication and dissemination of any information in their sphere of competence which may be useful to Member Countries of the OIE.

Since March 2007, the Institute manages the Secretariat of the network of OIE Reference Laboratories for Bluetongue, instituted upon recommendation of the World Organisation for Animal Health itself.

The network, which currently includes OIE Reference Laboratories, Collaborating Centres and experts in ad hoc groups, was founded with the intention of sharing the available information on BT, its epidemiological situation, diagnostic techniques and virus identification among the network of Laboratories, thus providing a further tool to the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) for the worldwide control of BT.

The Secretariat has been assigned to the Institute for the network's first two years of life and reconfirmed for other two years. The experts of the Institute have the task of coordinating the activities of the various participating Laboratories and gathering information, organising experts meetings, and designing and implementing the website.