Table 1. External Quality Control modules and specimen panel composition for six rounds, 2010–2014.
| EQA modules | Round 1 Spring 2010 | Round 2 Autumn 2010 | Round 3 2011 | Round 4 2012 | Round 5 2013 | Round 6 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microscopy | 6 slides | 6 slides | 6 slides | 6 slides | 6 slides | 6 slides |
| 2 | Primary Isolation | 5 spiked sputum specimens | 5 spiked sputum specimens | 5 spiked sputum specimens | 5 spiked sputum specimens | 5 spiked sputum specimens | 5 spiked sputum specimens |
| 3 | Identification | 5 M. spp strains | 5 M. spp strains | 5 M. spp strains | 5 M. spp strains | 5 M. spp strains | 5 M. spp strains |
| 4 | Drug susceptibility testing | 5 M. tuberculosis strains | 5 M. tuberculosis strains | 10 M. tuberculosis strains | 10 M. tuberculosis strains | 5 M. tuberculosis strains | 5 M. tuberculosis strains |
| 5 | Rapid NAAT identification of Mycobacteria | Not performed | Not performed | 5 spiked sputum specimens | 5 spiked sputum specimens | 5 spiked sputum specimens | 4 spiked sputum specimens |
| 6 | Molecular DST (cultures) | Not performed | 5 M. tuberculosis strains | 10 M. tuberculosis strains | 10 M. tuberculosis strains | 10 M. tuberculosis strains | 5 M. tuberculosis strains |
| 7 | Molecular DST (crude extracts) | Not performed | Not performed | 6 crude DNA extracts | 6 crude DNA extracts | Not performed | Not performed |
EQA, External Quality Control. NAAT, Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests. DST, Drug Susceptibility Tests. M. spp, various Mycobacterium genus species