External quality assessment of entomological identification of triatomines carried out in the Pernambuco Public Health Laboratory network, Brazil, 2017.

Objective: To assess the quality of triatomine identification in the laboratory network of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.

Methods: The participating laboratories received support material with dichotomous keys and a panel made up of seven triatomine insects known in the Pernambuco, in order to identify specimen status on receipt (intact or damaged structure), as well as species and sex.

Results: Nine out of 12 laboratories took part of the study.