(P-BC-46) Molecular And Serological Analysis Of Linked Blood Donor And Recipient Samples To Rule Out Transmission Of Parvovirus B19 Infection By Transfusion
NIH Clinical Center Department of Transfusion Medicine Infectious Diseases Section Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Background/Case Studies: Parvovirus B19 (B19V), a small, nonenveloped, single-stranded DNA Erythroparvovirus in the Parvoviridae family that is pathogenic in humans and resistant to pathogen reduction methods, is a transfusion-transmissible infection that has been found in asymptomatic blood donors. Though transmission of B19V by blood components has rarely been reported, transmission is possible; this team has previously reported one true case of B19V transmission due to transfusion of infected donor red blood cell concentrates. The objective of this prospective study was to test linked blood donor-recipient samples taken from participants at three academic hospital centers in the eastern United States for the presence of B19V DNA and anti-B19 IgG antibodies to investigate the risk of transmission of B19V by blood transfusion.
Study
Design/Methods: Posttransfusion recipient plasma samples were tested for B19V DNA at 1, 2, 4, and/or 8 weeks by nested PCR, and for anti-B19V IgG at 12 and 24 weeks (or more) by ELISA. To confirm B19V DNA-positive recipients, pretransfusion and linked donation samples were tested for B19V DNA, anti-B19V IgG and/or IgM. Tested samples included 2435 DNA samples from 1533 blood transfusion recipients and 2348 anti-B19V IgG samples available for 1349 of those recipients.
Results/Findings: No new transfusion-transmitted B19V infections were identified. Nineteen (19) of 1533 recipients (1.2%) had a DNA-positive result at some point during the study. Eight hundred and seventy-two (872) of 1349 recipients were positive for anti-B19V IgG antibody (64.6%). Antibody titers fluctuated from positive (titer >1.1) to negative (titer < 0.9) or from negative to positive among some recipients from 12 weeks to 24 weeks (or to the end of the study for recurrently transfused subjects who were followed for longer than 24 weeks). Conclusions: The B19V DNA positive rate remained low (1.2%). Other B19V DNA-positive recipients likely had already been infected prior to the study, therefore already had anti-B19 IgG or anti-B19V IgG complexed with B19 virus in their serum samples. Overall, the results confirm a low rate of B19V infection in these linked donor-recipient samples, indicating a low risk of transfusion-transmitted infection of B19V.
