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Follow-Up on Diagnostic Proficiency of Laboratories Equipped To Perform Orthopoxvirus Detection and Quantification by PCR: the Second International External Quality Assurance Study

Robert Koch Institute, Berlin,¹ Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Munich,² Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany³

Received 10 October 2005/ Returned for modification 5 December 2005/ Accepted 2 February 2006

Two years after the first external quality assurance study on bioterrorism-relevant viruses, we have conducted a follow-up study on orthopoxvirus detection by PCR. Thirty-three laboratories (27 European, 4 Austral-Asian, and 2 American) participated. Samples contained 0 to 40,000,000 DNA copies of lyophilized monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia virus per ml. Laboratories achieved a >80% detection chance above 56,234 copies per ml. Global sensitivity was not significantly improved over that of the first study. Twenty-seven and 9 participants, respectively, were able to genotype and quantify virus. Four of 27 genotyping results were incorrect. Quantification accuracy was significantly better for vaccinia virus than for the other viruses. False-positive results occurred in 22 (11.8%) of all 186 tests on negative samples, but 18 of these were contributed by only five laboratories. Fifty-five percent of laboratories could appropriately detect PCR inhibition. The use of either real-time PCR or commercial diagnostic kits had significant positive influence on laboratory performance.

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