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. 2023 Nov 13:11:1274508.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1274508. eCollection 2023.

External quality assessment for laboratories in pan-India ILI/SARI surveillance for simultaneous detection of influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2

Varsha Potdar  1 , Neetu Vijay  2 , Veena Vipat  1 , Sheetal Jadhav  1 , Nivedita Gupta  2 , Neeraj Aggarwal  2
Affiliations

External quality assessment for laboratories in pan-India ILI/SARI surveillance for simultaneous detection of influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2

Varsha Potdar et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: The Indian Council of Medical Research has set up a nationwide network of 28 laboratories for simultaneous surveillance of influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 in ILI/SARI patients, using an in-house developed and validated multiplex real-time RTPCR assay. The aim of this study was to ensure the quality of testing by these laboratories by implementing an external quality assessment program (EQAP).

Methods: For this EQAP, a proficiency test (PT) panel comprising tissue-culture or egg-grown influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 was developed. The PT panel was distributed to all the participant laboratories, which tested the panel and submitted the qualitative results online to the EQAP provider. The performance of the laboratories was evaluated on qualitative criteria but cycle threshold (Ct) values were also gathered for each sample.

Results: On a qualitative basis, all the laboratories achieved the criteria of 90% concordance with the results of the PT panel provider. Ct values of different samples across the laboratories were within ≤ ±3 cycles of the corresponding mean values of the respective sample. The results of this EQAP affirmed the quality and reliability of testing being done for simultaneous surveillance of influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 in India.

Keywords: EQAP; ILI; SARI; SARS-CoV-2; influenza; surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
EQAP process flow.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of laboratories that detected each sample in section 1 of the PT panel.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overall performance of the laboratories.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boxplot of Ct values for samples in section 1 of the PT panel (Each box represents an individual sample. The top and bottom lines of each boxplot represent the third and first quartiles, respectively. The horizontal bar and X within each box represent the median Ct value and mean Ct value for that sample. For each sample, minimum and maximum Ct values are represented by error bars and outliers are represented by O).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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