Premium
Measurements of human herpesvirus 8 viral load in blood before and after leukoreduction filtration
Author(s) -
Dollard Sheila C.,
Roback John D.,
Gunthel Clifford,
Amin Minal M.,
Barclay Sheilagh,
Patrick Ericka,
Kuehnert Matthew J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.12108
Subject(s) - leukoreduction , filtration (mathematics) , blood product , viral load , virus , blood transfusion , medicine , virology , biology , immunology , surgery , statistics , mathematics
Background Human herpesvirus 8 ( HHV ‐8) is likely transmitted through blood transfusion in high‐prevalence areas. The efficacy of leukoreduction filtration for reducing HHV ‐8 in blood has not been reported. Study Design and Methods Blood was drawn from 45 human immunodeficiency virus–positive men either with Kaposi's sarcoma ( KS ; n = 21) or without KS (n = 24) and subject to leukoreduction filtration. HHV ‐8 viral load was measured in plasma and in blood before and after filtration. Results Twelve subjects, all with KS , had detectable HHV ‐8 viremia before filtration with viral loads of 10 2 to 10 5 copies/ mL (mean, 3 × 10 4 copies/ mL ). After filtration, seven of 12 subjects no longer had detectable HHV ‐8 in their blood, and five of 12 subjects had detectable HHV ‐8 that was 90% reduced on average from prefiltration levels. The presence of HHV ‐8 in the blood after filtration was strongly associated with prefiltration viral loads greater than 1000 copies/ mL and the presence of cell‐free virus in plasma. None of the subjects without KS had detectable levels of HHV ‐8 virus in blood before or after filtration. Conclusion Cell‐associated HHV ‐8 appeared to be effectively removed by leukoreduction filtration. Cell‐free HHV ‐8 was present in 42% of subjects as 1% to 20% of the total virus which was not removed by filtration.