Variable sensitivity in molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 in European Expert Laboratories: External Quality Assessment, June - July 2020.
Fischer, Carlo Mögling, Ramona Melidou, Angeliki Kühne, Arne Oliveira-Filho, Edmilson F Wolff, Thorsten Reiche, Janine Broberg, Eeva Meijer, Adam Leitmeyer, Katrin
Fischer, Carlo
Mögling, Ramona
Melidou, Angeliki
Kühne, Arne
Oliveira-Filho, Edmilson F
Wolff, Thorsten
Reiche, Janine
Broberg, Eeva
Meijer, Adam
Leitmeyer, Katrin
Citations
Altmetric:
Series / Report no.
Open Access
Type
Article
Language
en
Date of publication
2020-12-09
Year of publication
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Title
Variable sensitivity in molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 in European Expert Laboratories: External Quality Assessment, June - July 2020.
Translated Title
Published in
J Clin Microbiol 2021; 59(3):e02676-20
Abstract
Objective: During the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, robust detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a key element for clinical management and to interrupt transmission chains. We organized an external quality assessment (EQA) of molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 for European expert laboratories.Study design: An EQA panel composed of 12 samples, containing either SARS-CoV-2 at different concentrations to evaluate sensitivity or other respiratory viruses to evaluate specificity of SARS-CoV-2 testing, was distributed to 68 laboratories in 35 countries. Specificity samples included seasonal human coronaviruses hCoV-229E, hCoV-NL63 and hCoV-OC43, as well as MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and human influenza virus A and B.Conclusion: Sensitivity was variable among laboratories, particularly for low concentration SARS-CoV-2 samples. Results indicated that performance was mostly independent of the selection of specific extraction or PCR methods.