First international external quality assessment scheme of nucleic acid amplification tests for the detection of schistosoma and soil-transmitted helminths, including strongyloides: A pilot study

P Cools; L van Lieshout; R Koelewijn; D Addiss; SSR Ajjampur; M Ayana; RS Bradbury; JL Cantera; D Dana; K Fischer; R Imtiaz; J Kabagenyi; J Lok; J McCarthy; R Mejia; Z Mekonnen; SM Njenga; N Othman; H Shao; R Traub; M Van Esbroeck; J Vercruysse; J Vlaminck; SA Williams; JJ Verweij; JJ van Hellemond; B Levecke

Journal article

First international external quality assessment scheme of nucleic acid amplification tests for the detection of schistosoma and soil-transmitted helminths, including strongyloides: A pilot study

P Cools, L van Lieshout, R Koelewijn, D Addiss, SSR Ajjampur, M Ayana, RS Bradbury, JL Cantera, D Dana, K Fischer, R Imtiaz, J Kabagenyi, J Lok, J McCarthy, R Mejia, Z Mekonnen, SM Njenga, N Othman, H Shao, R Traub Show all

Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2020

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008231

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Abstract

Background Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are increasingly being used as diagnostic tools for soil-transmitted helminths (STHs; Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Necator ameri-canus, Ancylostoma duodenale and A. ceylanicum), Strongyloides stercoralis and Schisto-soma in human stool. Currently, there is a large diversity of NAATs being applied, but an external quality assessment scheme (EQAS) for these diagnostics is lacking. An EQAS involves a blinded process where test results reported by a laboratory are compared to those reported by reference or expert laboratories, allowing for an objective assessment of the diagnostic performance of a laboratory. In the current study,..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

James McCarthy Author

Grants

Awarded by Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

Funding Acknowledgements

This study was funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation (OPP1120972, www.starworms.org), Dutch Foundation for Quality Assessment in Medical Laboratories (SKML) and Children Without Worms. PC was financially supported the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation (OPP1120972, www.starworms.org).BL was a postdoctoral fellow of the Research Foundation (www.FWO.be).JV was financially supported through an International Coordination Action of the Flemish Research Foundation. LvL is funded in part by the EDCTP2 program supported by the European Union (grant number RIA2017NCT-1845 STOP; www.stoptheworm.org).The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.