External quality assessments for microbiologic diagnosis of diphtheria in Europe

Leonard Both; Shona Neal; Aruni De Zoysa; Ginder Mann; Ida Czumbel; Androulla Efstratiou; Members of the European Diphtheria Surveillance Network

doi:10.1128/JCM.01776-14

External quality assessments for microbiologic diagnosis of diphtheria in Europe

J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Dec;52(12):4381-4. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01776-14. Epub 2014 Oct 8.

Authors

Leonard Both¹, Shona Neal¹, Aruni De Zoysa¹, Ginder Mann¹, Ida Czumbel², Androulla Efstratiou³; Members of the European Diphtheria Surveillance Network

Collaborators

Members of the European Diphtheria Surveillance Network:
S Huhulescu, D Pierard, A Detecheva, D Pieridou-Bagatzouni, J Zavadilova, K Fuursted, R Peetso, Q He, E Badell, A Sing, H Alexandrou-Athanasouli, G Tzanakaki, T Tirczka, O Svandis Gretarsdottir, P Murphy, N Wall, L Valinsky, M Monaco, R Paberza, A Liachaviciute, P Reichert, P Cuschieri, F Reubsaet, M Steinbakk, K Piekarska, P Bajanca Lavado, M Damian, V Lengyelova, V Mioc, S Herrera Leon, E Morfeldt, S Nar Otgun

Affiliations

¹ WHO Global Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Diphtheria and Streptococcal Infections, Public Health England (PHE), London, United Kingdom.
² European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden.
³ WHO Global Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Diphtheria and Streptococcal Infections, Public Health England (PHE), London, United Kingdom [email protected].

Abstract

The European Diphtheria Surveillance Network (EDSN) ensures the reliable epidemiological and microbiologic assessment of disease prevalence in the European Union. Here, we describe a survey of current diagnostic techniques for diphtheria surveillance conducted across the European Union and report the results from three external quality assessment (EQA) schemes performed between 2010 and 2014.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacteriological Techniques / methods
Bacteriological Techniques / standards*
Diphtheria / diagnosis*
European Union
Humans
Laboratory Proficiency Testing*
Quality Assurance, Health Care