ECDC publishes external quality assessment scheme for Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial susceptibility testing

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published its 2020 external quality assessment (EQA) scheme for Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

In September 2020, 27 laboratories in 26 participating countries received 10 gonococcal isolates for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The highest level of categorical agreement was seen with spectinomycin (100%) and ciprofloxacin (99.3%), while the lowest was seen with azithromycin (90.4%). Compared to the previous distribution, there was a slight decrease in concordance for azithromycin (90.4% vs. 92.5%), ceftriaxone (95.1% vs. 99.1%) and beta-lactamase production (96.4% vs. 100%), whereas concordance for cefixime (97.3% vs. 96.3%) and ciprofloxacin (99.3% vs. 91.1%) increased. 

Source: ECDC, 8 December 2021