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The prevalence of human T‐cell leukemia virus in blood donors in China
Author(s) -
Li Ling,
Ou Shanhai,
Huang Chengyin,
Zhou Xueyong,
Ge Hongwei,
Li Jianping,
Zeng Jinfeng,
Zhou Alyssa,
He Liu,
Xu Quming,
Wu Jie,
Li Longhuo,
Wang Chenghui,
Zang Liang,
Huang Liqin,
Niu Libin,
Han Hui,
Zhang Gang,
Wan Jianhua,
Wang Fang,
Xu Ting,
Zhao Binghai,
Qian Liqiong,
Wu Yanyun,
Liu Zhong
Publication year - 2019
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.15309
Subject(s) - medicine , blood donor , china , virus , virology , veterinary medicine , traditional medicine , immunology , geography , archaeology
BACKGROUND China has not yet incorporated routine human T‐lymphotropic virus (HTLV)‐1/2 blood donor screening, even though HTLV has been reported in the southeastern coastal region. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of HTLV in five major regions across of China. METHODS From January 2016 to December 2017, blood samples were collected in 20 blood centers located in different regions of China. These samples were screened for HTLV‐1/2 antibodies using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). If the test samples were reactive, the samples were confirmed with a western blot (WB) assay. If the results of WB were indeterminate, the donor was interviewed after a minimum lapse of 8 weeks. All follow‐up samples from donors were tested for anti–HTLV‐1/2 with ELISA and WB. RESULTS There were 875,453 donor samples tested for anti–HTLV‐1/2 by ELISA. In all, 365 samples tested negative, 22 samples tested positive by WB, and 14 samples with HTLV status undetermined due to being lost to follow‐up. The prevalences were 11.09, 5.96, 3.16, 2.88 and 0.98 per 100,000 in Xiamen, Changsha, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Nanjing blood center, respectively. The prevalences were 0 per 100,000 for all 15 other blood centers. There was significant differences in the prevalence of HTLV in different regions of China (p = 0.0011). CONCLUSION In China, HTLV‐1 confirmed positive donors are mainly from southeastern coastal areas. It may be necessary to conduct HTLV screening in these areas to reduce the risk of transfusion‐transmitted HTLV.