N.B. COVID-19 wastewater data restored to national site after quality review over accuracy – CBC
Public Health Agency of Canada did not say what prompted the 5-month review
Sep 26, 2024
The Public Health Agency of Canada has restored COVID-19 wastewater data for New Brunswick on the national COVID wastewater website, following a five-month “quality review” related to concerns about the accuracy of test results.
The agency’s national microbiology laboratory “wanted to assess the batch-to-batch variability” and sensitivity of the testing cartridges used in New Brunswick’s GeneXpert system — a polymerase chain reaction rapid-testing platform for infectious diseases, said spokesperson Anna Maddison.
“Different batches of cartridges … may have differences in performance and this can affect the test accuracy, sensitivity and specificity,” she said in an emailed statement.
“Prior to publishing data from a different batch of cartridges, the [national microbiology laboratory] conducted a quality review to … ensure the cartridges were reporting accurate results.”
