Human herpesvirus 8 seroprevalence and viral load in healthy adult blood donors

• Published in: Transfusion (Philadelphia, Pa.) Pa.), 2003-01, Vol.43 (1), p.85-90
• Main Authors: Hudnall, S. David, Chen, Tiansheng, Rady, Peter, Tyring, Stephen, Allison, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABO Blood-Group System; Adult; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Donors; Blood. Blood and plasma substitutes. Blood products. Blood cells. Blood typing. Plasmapheresis. Apheresis; Female; Herpesvirus 8, Human - immunology; Herpesvirus 8, Human - isolation & purification; Human herpesvirus 8; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Transfusions. Complications. Transfusion reactions. Cell and gene therapy; Viral Load; Viremia - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0041-1132; 1537-2995
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1537-2995.2003.00272.x

BACKGROUND : Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV‐8) is widely suspected to be a human tumor virus because it is associated with Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion B cell lymphoma. Report of a case of HHV‐8‐positive donor blood in the US has led to concern for the safety of donor blood from HHV‐8‐seropositive donors. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS : The findings of HHV‐8 seroprevalence and virus load from 100 randomly selected blood donors from the Houston, Texas, area are reported. Serology with serial titration was performed using a highly sensitive indirect immunofluorescence assay to lytic and latent HHV‐8 antigens. For detection of blood‐borne virus, buffy‐coat DNA was subjected to two ultrasensitive nested PCR‐dot blot assays to HHV‐8 orf26 and orf72 regions. RESULTS : At a screening titer of 1 in 10, nearly one‐quarter (23%; 95% CI, 15‐33) of the blood donors are HHV‐8 seropositive with a geometric mean titer of 1 in 53. Seroreactivity to lytic antigens (23%) greatly exceeded that to latent antigens (5%). There was a significant association between seropositivity and older age (p < 0.02), white ethnicity (OR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.40‐7.95) and ABO blood group B (OR, 6.44; 95% CI, 2.46‐16.80). No association with sex or CMV seropositivity was demonstrated. No HHV‐8 viremia was detected, even though 64 percent of tested donor blood samples were EBV DNA positive. CONCLUSIONS : Despite a relatively high HHV‐8 seroprevalence in this cohort of Houston area blood donors, HHV‐8 DNA was not detected in any sample of donor whole blood using a highly sensitive PCR assay. Thus, at least in the southeast Texas region, large‐scale screening of blood donor units for HHV‐8 antibody or DNA seems unwarranted.