Experiences from 4 Years of Organization of an External Quality Assessment for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Whole-Genome Sequencing in the European Union/European Economic Area
Richard Anthony, Elisa Tagliani, Vladyslav Nikolayevskyy, Rina de Zwaan, A. Mulder, Miranda Kamst, Csaba Ködmön, Marieke J. van der Werf, Daniela María Cirillo, Dick van Soolingen, ERLTB-Net members, Lucy Taylor, Priti Rathod, Kathrin Lippert, Vanessa Mathys, Karine Soetaert, Erik Michael Rasmussen, Marjo Haanperä, F. Morel, Matthias Merker, Emma Roycroft, Margaret Fitzgibbon, Andrea Maurizio Cabibbe, Monique Perrin, Eldholm Vegard, Ola Brønstad, Rita Macedo, Laura Herrera-Leon, Sofía Samper, Mikael Mansjö, Ramona Groenheit
Abstract
The wider availability of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) coupled to new developments in bioinformatic tools and databases to interpret Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex WGS data has accelerated the adoption of this method for the routine prediction of antimycobacterial drug resistance and genotyping, thus necessitating the establishment of a comprehensive external quality control system. Here, we report 4 years of development and results from such a panel.