Nikisins Sergejs, Rieger Toni, Patel Pranav, Müller Rolf, Günther Stephan, Niedrig Matthias
Highly Pathogenic Viruses (ZBS 1), Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany; European Public Health Microbiology Training Programme (EUPHEM), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Stockholm, Sweden.
Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Arboviruses and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Hamburg, Germany.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015 May 21;9(5):e0003793. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003793. eCollection 2015 May.
Lassa virus (LASV) is a causative agent of hemorrhagic fever in West Africa. In recent years, it has been imported several times to Europe and North America. The method of choice for early detection of LASV in blood is RT-PCR. Therefore, the European Network for Diagnostics of 'Imported' Viral Diseases (ENIVD) performed an external quality assessment (EQA) study for molecular detection of LASV. A proficiency panel of 13 samples containing various concentrations of inactivated LASV strains Josiah, Lib-1580/121, CSF, or AV was prepared. Samples containing the LASV-related lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and negative sera were included as specificity controls. Twenty-four laboratories from 17 countries (13 European, one African, one Asian, two American countries) participated in the study. Thirteen laboratories (54%) reported correct results, 4 (17%) laboratories reported 1 to 2 false-negative results, and 7 (29%) laboratories reported 3 to 5 false-negative results. This EQA study indicates that most participating laboratories have a good or acceptable performance in molecular detection of LASV. However, several laboratories need to review and improve their diagnostic procedures.
拉沙病毒（LASV）是西非出血热的病原体。近年来，它已多次传入欧洲和北美。血液中LASV早期检测的首选方法是逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）。因此，欧洲“输入性”病毒病诊断网络（ENIVD）开展了一项针对LASV分子检测的外部质量评估（EQA）研究。制备了一个包含13个样本的能力验证组，这些样本含有不同浓度的灭活LASV毒株约西亚株、Lib-1580/121株、CSF株或AV株。含有与LASV相关的淋巴细胞性脉络丛脑膜炎病毒（LCMV）的样本和阴性血清被用作特异性对照。来自17个国家（13个欧洲国家、1个非洲国家、1个亚洲国家、2个美洲国家）的24个实验室参与了该研究。13个实验室（54%）报告了正确结果，4个（17%）实验室报告了1至2个假阴性结果，7个（29%）实验室报告了3至5个假阴性结果。这项EQA研究表明，大多数参与实验室在LASV分子检测方面表现良好或可接受。然而，有几个实验室需要审查并改进其诊断程序。
