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Clinical Chemistry 52: 1851-1854, 2006. First published August 3, 2006; 10.1373/clinchem.2005.064451
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(Clinical Chemistry. 2006;52:1851-1854.)
© 2006 American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Inc.

Molecular Diagnostics and Genetics

First International Proficiency Study on West Nile Virus Molecular Detection

Matthias Niedrig1,a, Sonja Linke1, Herve Zeller2 and Christian Drosten3

1 Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
2 Unité de Biologie des Infections Virales Emergentes, Institut Pasteur, Lyon, France.
3 Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.

aAddress correspondence to this author at: Robert Koch Institut, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany. Fax 49 30-4547-2321; e-mail niedrigm{at}rki.de.

Background: West Nile virus (WNV) molecular detection is being conducted by a growing number of laboratories, but the degree of proficiency may vary between them. External quality control is needed.

Methods: We have conducted an international quality assurance study on WNV molecular detection. Participating laboratories tested noninfectious samples inactivated by heat and gamma irradiation. Participants received 7 coded lyophilized samples containing WNV of genetic lineages 1a, 1b, and 2 at 2600 to 18 000 000 RNA copies/mL, 3 samples containing heterologous flaviviruses, and 2 negative samples.

Results: Thirty laboratories participated. The average laboratory achieved 50% detection probability from 7762 copies/mL onward (probit analysis; 95% CI = 1174–24547 copies/mL). Lineages 1a and 1b were detected with equal efficiencies, but the lineage 2 strain (Ug37) was detected at significantly lower rates. Only 27% of participants were able to detect the 6 samples containing ≥1.8 x 104 copies/mL. Three laboratories generated false-positive results in negative samples. Six of 30 laboratories reported correct strain identification in 3 samples containing non-WNV flaviviruses. We observed a significant positive correlation between the capability of detecting non-WNV flaviviruses and detecting WNV lineage 2.

Conclusions: Most participants showed good performance in detecting lineage 1 WNV, the predominant virus in the Northern Hemisphere. The inability of some laboratories to detect even highly concentrated lineage 2 WNV downgraded the overall outcome. The lineage 2 material received through this study will provide laboratories with the necessary template for improving their assays. Such material is otherwise hard to obtain.




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 J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
S. Rondini, M. R. Pingle, S. Das, R. Tesh, M. S. Rundell, J. Hom, S. Stramer, K. Turner, S. N. Rossmann, R. Lanciotti, et al.
Development of Multiplex PCR-Ligase Detection Reaction Assay for Detection of West Nile Virus
J. Clin. Microbiol., July 1, 2008; 46(7): 2269 - 2279.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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