Quality control for parasitologic data

Accuracy of data is of paramount concern for all research. The task of prov iding objective assurances of accuracy of parasitologic data for a large, m ulti-center epidemiologic research project in Egypt (Epidemiology 1, 2, 3 [ EPI 1, 2, 3]) presented a unique set of challenges undertaken jointly by th e Ministry of Health's Qalyub Center for Field and Applied Research with te chnical assistance from Tulane University (New Orleans, LA). The EPI 1, 2, 3 project was part of large bilateral research program, the Schistosomiasis Research Project, undertaken jointly by the governments of Egypt and the U nited States. This paper describes the nature of the quality control system developed to accomplish this task, presents results and discusses the find ings.