Exposure of hematologic patients to parvovirus B19 as a contaminant of blood cell preparations and blood products

• Published in: Transfusion (Philadelphia, Pa.) Pa.), 2005-11, Vol.45 (11), p.1811-1815
• Main Authors: Plentz, Annelie, Hahn, Joachim, Knöll, Antje, Holler, Ernst, Jilg, Wolfgang, Modrow, Susanne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Cells - virology; Blood Component Transfusion - adverse effects; Blood. Blood and plasma substitutes. Blood products. Blood cells. Blood typing. Plasmapheresis. Apheresis; Bone marrow, stem cells transplantation. Graft versus host reaction; DNA, Viral - blood; Emergency and intensive cardiocirculatory care. Cardiogenic shock. Coronary intensive care; Female; Hematologic Neoplasms - therapy; Hematopoietic Stem Cells - virology; Humans; Intensive care medicine; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Parvoviridae Infections - transmission; Parvovirus B19, Human - genetics; Retrospective Studies; Transfusions. Complications. Transfusion reactions. Cell and gene therapy; Viral Load; Viremia - transmission
• ISSN: 0041-1132; 1537-2995
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2005.00610.x

BACKGROUND: Patients with hematologic malignancies often require blood products, and parvovirus B19 is known to be transmitted by this route. Primary infection with parvovirus B19 shows a wide variety of disease manifestation. In immunocompromised patients, symptoms are severe and viral clearance is delayed or missing. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 2123 blood products given to all patients of a hematologic ward over a period of 6 months were retrospectively examined for the presence of parvovirus B19 DNA by an in‐house real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR; TaqMan). Patients who had received B19 DNA–positive blood products were further investigated serologically and by PCR for the presence of parvovirus B19 antibodies and DNA. RESULTS: Twenty‐one (1%) of 2123 blood products tested positive for the presence of B19 DNA (2% of pooled products, 0.7% of single‐donor products, and 17.6% of allogeneic peripheral blood progenitor cells), the median viral load was 700 genome equivalents per mL. During the study period, 114 patients were treated on the ward, and 14 (12%) of them received B19 DNA–positive blood components. None of them developed symptoms of an acute B19 infection, although one had a short low‐level viremia. CONCLUSIONS: Although B19 DNA was detected in 1 percent of blood products given to hematologic patients, the exposure of 12 percent of patients did not result in symptomatic infections.