Evaluation of mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem-repeat genotyping as performed in laboratories in Canada, France, and the United States

摘要

The external quality assessment of 24-locus mycobacterial I interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) genotyping by de Beer et al. reveals issues with its international performance (5). Detailed analysis of the data was confounded by the complexity of the participants. The five genotyping laboratories in Canada and the United States participating in this study use similar typing protocols based on the standardized protocol proposed by Supply et al. (8) and developed in collaboration with each other. Systems for routine handling of samples and data management are well established. Quality control (QC) and assurance measures include routine testing of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv and repeat testing of 1 of isolates at an external laboratory. The laboratorians conducting the analysis have at a minimum 5 years of experience performing MIRU-VNTR typing. This co-hesiveness allows for a more in-depth analysis of the data collected by de Beer et al.