BACKGROUND: Both CMV-seronegative blood and unscreened, filtered blood carry a low but definite risk of transmitting CMV infection. To explain this residual risk, evidence of cell-free viremia was sought in seroconverting and seroprevalent blood donors and seroconverting transfusion recipients by means of a plasma-based assay for CMV DNA. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A CMV DNA PCR assay (COBAS Amplicor CMV Monitor, Roche) was used to detect CMV DNA in 384 paired plasma samples from 192 donors who seroconverted to anti-CMV, 488 anti-CMV EIA-positive samples from 60 seroprevalent donors, and 113 serial samples from 11 seroconverting recipients with posttransfusion CMV hepatitis. RESULTS: Three of 384 samples from 192 seroconverting donors had low levels of plasma CMV DNA (400-1600 copies/mL); one donor was positive before seroconversion, and the other two, after seroconversion. None of the 488 serial samples from 60 anti-CMV- positive donors contained CMV DNA in plasma. Three of 11 recipients demonstrated transient plasma viremia that temporally coincided with seroconversion. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma CMV DNA was detected in a small percentage of seroconverting blood donors and a larger percentage of recipients but was undetectable in seroprevalent donors. Plasma viremia in seroconverting donors may partially explain the low residual risk of CMV transmission by both CMV-seronegative and WBC-reduced seropositive blood.
BACKGROUND: Both CMV-seronegative blood and unscreened, filtered blood carry a low but definite risk of transmitting CMV infection. To explain this residual risk, evidence of cell-free viremia was sought in seroconverting and seroprevalent blood donors and seroconverting transfusion recipients by means of a plasma-based assay for CMV DNA. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A CMV DNA PCR assay (COBAS Amplicor CMV Monitor, Roche) was used to detect CMV DNA in 384 paired plasma samples from 192 donors who seroconverted to anti-CMV, 488 anti-CMV EIA-positive samples from 60 seroprevalent donors, and 113 serial samples from 11 seroconverting recipients with posttransfusion CMV hepatitis. RESULTS: Three of 384 samples from 192 seroconverting donors had low levels of plasma CMV DNA (400-1600 copies/mL); one donor was positive before seroconversion, and the other two, after seroconversion. None of the 488 serial samples from 60 anti-CMV- positive donors contained CMV DNA in plasma. Three of 11 recipients demonstrated transient plasma viremia that temporally coincided with seroconversion. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma CMV DNA was detected in a small percentage of seroconverting blood donors and a larger percentage of recipients but was undetectable in seroprevalent donors. Plasma viremia in seroconverting donors may partially explain the low residual risk of CMV transmission by both CMV-seronegative and WBC-reduced seropositive blood.
Authors: Volkmar Schottstedt; Johannes Blümel; Reinhard Burger; Christian Drosten; Albrecht Gröner; Lutz Gürtler; Margarethe Heiden; Martin Hildebrandt; Bernd Jansen; Thomas Montag-Lessing; Ruth Offergeld; Georg Pauli; Rainer Seitz; Uwe Schlenkrich; Johanna Strobel; Hannelore Willkommen; Carl-Heinz Wirsing von König Journal: Transfus Med Hemother Date: 2010-11-17 Impact factor: 3.747
Authors: Cassandra D Josephson; Marta-Inés Castillejo; Angela M Caliendo; Edmund K Waller; James Zimring; Kirk A Easley; Michael Kutner; Christopher D Hillyer; John D Roback Journal: Transfus Med Rev Date: 2011-02-23
Authors: Sophie Voruz; Peter Gowland; Claudia Eyer; Nadja Widmer; Mélanie Abonnenc; Michel Prudent; Stavroula Masouridi-Levrat; Michel A Duchosal; Christoph Niederhauser Journal: Blood Transfus Date: 2020-02-28 Impact factor: 3.443
Authors: Cassandra D Josephson; Angela M Caliendo; Kirk A Easley; Andrea Knezevic; Neeta Shenvi; Michael T Hinkes; Ravi M Patel; Christopher D Hillyer; John D Roback Journal: JAMA Pediatr Date: 2014-11 Impact factor: 16.193