Asthma and allergy in Albania.

Background: The risk of allergic disease may be influenced by the degree of "westernization". A survey was conducted to ascertain whether the prevalence of allergy was lower in Albania than elsewhere in Europe, as it has been the most isolated European country.

Methods: The subjects were residents of Tirana aged 20-44 years.

Diagnostic allergy laboratory external proficiency testing in Europe.

As with all diagnostic laboratory testing, some form of external proficiency testing is required both for the laboratory undertaking the testing and for the safety of the requesting clinician and his patient. Allergen Specific immunoglobulin E antibody testing in serum can produce different results depending on the method. Originally External Quality Assessment schemes in Europe were run on a National basis but 5 years ago a cooperation scheme was adopted whereby each National scheme adopted common serum pools for distribution, common distribution dates, and a common report format.