J L de Beer1, C Ködmön2, J van Ingen3, P Supply4, D van Soolingen1. 1. National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Diagnostics and Screening, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. 2. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden. 3. Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. 4. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Lille, France.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The quality of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was first investigated in 2009 in 37 laboratories worldwide. The results revealed an inter- and intra-laboratory reproducibility of respectively 60% and 72%. These data spurred an improvement in laboratory-specific assays and global standardisation of VNTR typing. OBJECTIVE: To measure the effects of the technical improvements and increased standardisation, a test panel consisting of 30 M. tuberculosis complex DNA samples was distributed for VNTR typing in 41 participating laboratories from 36 countries. RESULTS: The inter- and intra-laboratory reproducibility increased overall to respectively 78% and 88%. The 33 laboratories that participated in both the first and second proficiency studies improved their inter- and intra-laboratory reproducibility from 62% and 72% to respectively 79% and 88%. The largest improvement in reproducibility was detected in 10 laboratories that use an in-house polymerase chain reaction technique and perform amplicon sizing using gel electrophoresis. Detailed error analysis revealed a reduction in the number of systematic errors, sample exchange events and non-amplifiable loci. CONCLUSION: This second worldwide proficiency study indicates a substantial increase in the reproducibility of VNTR typing of M. tuberculosis. This will contribute to a more meaningful interpretation of molecular epidemiological and phylogenetic studies on the M. tuberculosis complex.
BACKGROUND: The quality of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was first investigated in 2009 in 37 laboratories worldwide. The results revealed an inter- and intra-laboratory reproducibility of respectively 60% and 72%. These data spurred an improvement in laboratory-specific assays and global standardisation of VNTR typing. OBJECTIVE: To measure the effects of the technical improvements and increased standardisation, a test panel consisting of 30 M. tuberculosis complex DNA samples was distributed for VNTR typing in 41 participating laboratories from 36 countries. RESULTS: The inter- and intra-laboratory reproducibility increased overall to respectively 78% and 88%. The 33 laboratories that participated in both the first and second proficiency studies improved their inter- and intra-laboratory reproducibility from 62% and 72% to respectively 79% and 88%. The largest improvement in reproducibility was detected in 10 laboratories that use an in-house polymerase chain reaction technique and perform amplicon sizing using gel electrophoresis. Detailed error analysis revealed a reduction in the number of systematic errors, sample exchange events and non-amplifiable loci. CONCLUSION: This second worldwide proficiency study indicates a substantial increase in the reproducibility of VNTR typing of M. tuberculosis. This will contribute to a more meaningful interpretation of molecular epidemiological and phylogenetic studies on the M. tuberculosis complex.
Authors: Jessica L de Beer; Onno W Akkerman; Anita C Schürch; Arnout Mulder; Tjip S van der Werf; Adri G M van der Zanden; Jakko van Ingen; Dick van Soolingen Journal: J Clin Microbiol Date: 2014-02-05 Impact factor: 5.948
Authors: K Toit; A Altraja; C D Acosta; P Viiklepp; K Kremer; T Kummik; M Danilovitš; R Van den Bergh; A D Harries; P Supply Journal: Public Health Action Date: 2014-10-21
Authors: Rana Jajou; Miranda Kamst; Rianne van Hunen; Carolina Catherina de Zwaan; Arnout Mulder; Philip Supply; Richard Anthony; Wim van der Hoek; Dick van Soolingen Journal: J Clin Microbiol Date: 2018-01-24 Impact factor: 5.948
Authors: Paul Jeffrey Freidlin; Israel Nissan; Anna Luria; Drora Goldblatt; Lana Schaffer; Hasia Kaidar-Shwartz; Daniel Chemtob; Zeev Dveyrin; Steven Robert Head; Efrat Rorman Journal: BMC Genomics Date: 2017-02-15 Impact factor: 3.969