Does proficiency testing improve the quality of hantavirus serodiagnostics? Experiences with INSTAND EQA schemes

International Journal of Medical Microbiology : IJMM
Jörg HofmannDetlev H Krüger

Abstract

Hantavirus infections in Germany appear periodically with peak numbers every 2-3 years. The reported cases in the years 2007, 2010 and 2012 exceeded many times over those in the years in-between. In order to reveal faults of certain in vitro diagnostic assays (IVDs), to harmonize the performances of the individual assays and to improve the users' competence in interpreting the results, the National Consiliary Laboratory for Hantaviruses and INSTAND e.V. (Society for Promoting Quality Assurance in Medical Laboratories e.V.) established an external quality assessment (EQA) scheme for proficiency testing of hantavirus serodiagnostics. The first EQA scheme (pilot study) started in March 2009 with 58 participating laboratories from Germany and neighboring countries. Twice a year four serum samples were sent out to the participants to investigate whether the sample reflects an acute or past infection and to distinguish between infections with the hantavirus types Puumala virus (PUUV) and Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV), both endemic in Central Europe. In addition, samples negative for anti-hantavirus antibodies were tested in order to examine the specificity of the IVDs applied in the participating laboratories. An increasing number of...Continue Reading

References

Jun 16, 2005·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·Boris KlempaDetlev H Krüger
Apr 29, 2008·Emerging Infectious Diseases·Jörg HofmannDetlev H Kruger
May 9, 2008·Reviews in Medical Virology·Antti VaheriAlexander Plyusnin
Apr 22, 2011·Human Vaccines·Detlev H KrügerBoris Klempa
Apr 18, 2012·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·Camille EscadafalOliver Donoso-Mantke
Jul 5, 2012·Reviews in Medical Virology·Antti VaheriOlli Vapalahti
Aug 31, 2012·Emerging Infectious Diseases·Jakob EttingerDetlev H Kruger
Apr 23, 2013·Acta Virologica·B KlempaD H Kruger
Jan 21, 2014·Clinical Microbiology and Infection : the Official Publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases·J HofmannD H Kruger

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Citations

Sep 14, 2015·International Journal of Medical Microbiology : IJMM·Ulrich VogelMary Slack
Mar 11, 2016·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·Nina LagerqvistJonas Klingström

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