Premium
Bitten by a bug or a bag? Transfusion‐transmitted dengue: a rare complication in the bleeding surgical patient
Author(s) -
Oh Han Boon,
Muthu Vaishnavi,
Daruwalla Zubin J.,
Lee Shir Ying,
Koay Evelyn S.,
Tambyah Paul A.
Publication year - 2015
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.13054
Subject(s) - dengue fever , chikungunya , medicine , outbreak , virology , blood transfusion , arbovirus , dengue virus , transmission (telecommunications) , viral disease , virus , immunology , electrical engineering , engineering
BACKGROUND Blood‐borne infections remain a risk of blood transfusions. While routine screening of donated blood products has greatly reduced the risk of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C transmission, arboviruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and the West Nile virus remain significant risks especially during outbreaks. CASE REPORT We report a rare case of dengue documented to be acquired through a blood transfusion, which resulted in severe thrombocytopenia prolonging admission in hospital in a neurosurgical patient. RESULTS The donor of one of the units of red blood cells presented with dengue fever 2 days after donating. Sanger sequencing confirmed DENV‐2 (dengue virus, Serotype 2) in both the donor and the patient samples and showed 100% nucleotide sequence identity between the two viruses, confirming transfusion‐transmitted dengue infection. CONCLUSION This case highlights the importance of arboviral screening of donor blood, especially for populations in endemic areas during outbreaks.