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Usefulness of nucleic acid testing to reduce risk of hepatitis B virus transfusion‐transmitted infection in Argentina: high rate of recent infections
Author(s) -
Blanco Sebastián,
Balangero Marcos César,
Valle Mildre Cledy,
Montini Oscar Luis,
Carrizo Luis Horacio,
Gallego Sandra Verónica
Publication year - 2017
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.13946
Subject(s) - window period , serology , nat , virology , nucleic acid test , medicine , hepatitis b virus , hepatitis c virus , occult , transmission (telecommunications) , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , hepatitis b , immunology , virus , antibody , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology , covid-19 , computer network , alternative medicine , computer science , electrical engineering , engineering
BACKGROUND Results from 10‐year experience using nucleic acid test (NAT) screening in a blood bank of Córdoba are presented, showing the first data on prevalence of recent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections and occult HBV infections (OBIs) in Argentina. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Molecular screening was performed by COBAS AmpliScreen human immunodeficiency virus Type 1 (HIV‐1) test Version 1.5 and COBAS AmpliScreen hepatitis C virus (HCV) test Version 2.0 and COBAS TaqScreen MPX and MPX Version 2.0 test (Roche Molecular Systems). To characterize OBI, additional molecular and serologic assays were performed. RESULTS As results of NAT, 0.075% of the donors (155/205,388) tested positive for HIV, 0.05% (106/205,388) for HCV, and 0.045% (76/168,215) for HBV. Donors who tested positive for HIV or HCV by NAT were also positive by serology. There was one of 33,643 donors recently infected with HBV. At time of donation, six of 76 (7.9%) donors with confirmed HBV infection presented virologic and serologic profiles consistent with OBI. By additional studies three were OBI, two were window period infections, and one remained unclassified. CONCLUSION NAT contributed significantly to the reduction of the potential risk of HBV transmission with a frequency of one in 56,072, detecting three in 168,215 donors without serologic evidence of infection. NAT also detected three in 168,215 OBIs. The finding of high frequency of recent infections (1/33,643), unexpected for this country, highlights the need of promoting unified effective regulations that enforce the use of NAT in all blood banks in Argentina and points out the importance of assessing the risk of HBV transmission in blood banks of other countries considered to be low‐endemic.