Development and implementation of the quality control panel of RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR for avian influenza A (H5N1) surveillance network in mainland China

BACKGROUND Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and real time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) have been indispensable methods for influenza surveillance, especially for determination of avian influenza. The movement of testing beyond reference lab introduced the need of quality control, including the implementation of an evaluation system for validating personal training and sample proficiency testing. METHODS We developed a panel with lysates of seasonal influenza virus (H1N1, H3N2 and B), serials of diluted H5N1 virus lysates, and in-vitro transcribed H5 hemaglutinin (HA) and an artificial gene RNAs for RT-PCR and rRT-PCR quality control assessment. The validations of stability and reproducibility were performed on the panel. Additionally, the panel was implemented to assess the detection capability of Chinese human avian influenza networks. RESULTS The panel has relatively high stability and good reproducibility demonstrated by kappa's tests. In the implementation of panel on Chinese human avian influenza networks, the results suggested that there were a relatively low number of discrepancies for both concise and reproducibility in Chinese avian influenza virus net works. CONCLUSIONS A quality control panel of RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR for avian influenza A (H5N1) surveillance network was developed. An available statistical data, which are used to assess the detection capability of networks on avian influenza virus (H5N1), can be obtained relatively easily through implementation of the panel on networks.