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Himmelsbach K, Mueller S, Kress J, Fiedler SA, Miskey C, Ivics Z, Patek A, Chudy M. Second hepatitis C virus transmission by blood components since introduction of mandatory NAT screening in Germany. Transfusion 2023; 63:339-347. [PMID: 36515262 DOI: 10.1111/trf.17224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Viral safety of blood products in Germany has improved significantly over the last two decades. We describe the second documented transfusion-transmitted (TT) episode for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Germany since mandatory nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAT) screening was introduced in 1999. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS When a repeat donor who had tested negative for anti-HCV tested positive for HCV RNA by NAT in a minipool (MP) of eight, a look-back procedure was initiated. Qualitative, quantitative and genotyping assays were used to investigate the titers of the quarantined fresh frozen plasma (FFP) from the donor and a serum sample from the recipient of the pooled platelet concentrate (PPC). Amplified products of 5'UTR and HVR1 were used for sequence comparison to characterize the HCV genomic identity of donor and recipient samples. RESULTS All NAT tests utilized in this procedure were able to detect a low HCV RNA titer (~15 IU/ml) in the FFP from the donation. Dilution of FFP by factor 8 was performed to mimic an MP, and the detection rate correlated well with the claimed sensitivity of the tests. Analysis of donor and recipient samples revealed genotype 3a viral transmission confirmed by sequence analysis. CONCLUSION This TT HCV case could have been prevented by individual donation (ID) NAT. However, a low titer blood donation in the window period (WP) is very rare. Residual risk calculation for TT HCV in the WP revealed that, compared to MP-NAT testing, ID-NAT would improve blood safety only marginally.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Susanne Mueller
- Department Safety of Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Julia Kress
- Department of Virology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Sarah A Fiedler
- Department Safety of Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Csaba Miskey
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Zoltan Ivics
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
| | - Alexander Patek
- Blood Donation Service Saar-Pfalz, Klinikum Saarbruecken, Saarbruecken, Germany
| | - Michael Chudy
- Department of Virology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany
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Nishiya AS, de Almeida-Neto C, Witkin SS, Ferreira SC, Salles NA, Nogueira FAH, Oliveira CDL, Rocha V, Mendrone Júnior A. Improved detection of hepatitis C virus-positive blood donors and determination of infection status. Transfus Med 2022; 33:159-164. [PMID: 36251615 DOI: 10.1111/tme.12930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In low-risk populations, variability in the sensitivity of current serological tests for Hepatitis C virus (HCV) blood donor screening may lead to the presence of false-positive results. This contributes to the unnecessary loss of blood donor samples as well as to difficulty in accurate donor counselling. The present study determined the optimal cut-off value of a chemiluminescent immunoassay for identification of HCV-reactive blood donors. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS In a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 193 973 blood donations, 578 samples that were positive for HCV antibody in a chemiluminescent immunoassay and/or RNA screening tests were identified. Blood from 379 of these positive samples was available for retesting by a second confirmatory HCV immunoassay followed by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Donors were also recalled for a new analysis. RESULTS Only 71 (18.7%) blood samples remained HCV-positive upon retesting, while 233 (61.5%) now tested negative and 75 (19.8%) yielding indeterminate results. A signal to cutoff ratio ≥4.32 was determined as the best differential threshold between a positive and negative result, increasing the positive predictive value from 27.3% to 66.7%. CONCLUSION Using a higher threshold for an HCV-positive blood sample enhances the chemiluminescent immunoassay screening test´s accuracy and helps to improve donor counselling and notification processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna S Nishiya
- Fundação Pró-Sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Pathogenesis and targeted therapy in Oncoimmunohematology (LIM-31), Department of Hematology, Hospital das Clínicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Cesar de Almeida-Neto
- Fundação Pró-Sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Disciplina de Ciências Médicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Steven S Witkin
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Suzete C Ferreira
- Fundação Pró-Sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Pathogenesis and targeted therapy in Oncoimmunohematology (LIM-31), Department of Hematology, Hospital das Clínicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Nanci A Salles
- Fundação Pró-Sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Vanderson Rocha
- Fundação Pró-Sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Pathogenesis and targeted therapy in Oncoimmunohematology (LIM-31), Department of Hematology, Hospital das Clínicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Disciplina de Ciências Médicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil.,Churchill Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Alfredo Mendrone Júnior
- Fundação Pró-Sangue Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Pathogenesis and targeted therapy in Oncoimmunohematology (LIM-31), Department of Hematology, Hospital das Clínicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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