Blood safety strategies for human T‐cell lymphotropic virus in Europe
- 12 January 2009
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Vox Sanguinis
- Vol. 96 (2), 104-110
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1423-0410.2008.01136.x
Abstract
To prevent the blood transmission of human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV), different countries have introduced anti-HTLV blood screening. Furthermore, leucoreduction of blood components has been implemented to preclude the transmission of infectious agents present in white blood cells. To evaluate the current European strategies adopted to ensure the blood safety for HTLV, a European investigation spanning a period from 2003 to 2008 was carried out. In 2003, of the 23 included countries, 11 performed anti-HTLV screening, four of which (Scandinavian countries) only did it on first-time donors. Norway and Finland stopped it in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Two groups may be defined according to increasing prevalence rates per 10 000 donations in first-time donors: Scandinavia and Ireland (0 to 0.17), France, the Netherlands and UK (0.45 to 0.48); Romania was clearly apart from all other participating countries (5.33). HTLV-positive donors (88.6%) either come from endemic areas (82.3%) or declare to have a sexual partner coming from endemic areas (6.3%). Of the 283 HTLV-positive donations that could be characterized, 6.6% were HTLV-II. Fourteen of 22 countries currently use systematic leucoreduction, at least in cellular blood components. Six countries perform both universal anti-HTLV screening and blood cell leucoreduction. The implementation of leucoreduction did not modify the blood HTLVscreening policy, except for Norway and Finland. Several screening strategies in low endemic countries performing leucoreduction were discussed. However, the withdrawal of anti-HTLV screening should be decided after assessing the remaining HTLV transfusion risk.This publication has 34 references indexed in Scilit:
- Quality of leucoreduced red blood cell concentrates: 5 years of follow-up in FranceVox Sanguinis, 2007
- Surveillance of risk profiles among new and repeat blood donors with transfusion-transmissible infections from 1995 through 2003 in the NetherlandsTransfusion, 2006
- HTLV-I/II prevalence in different geographic locationsTransfusion Medicine Reviews, 2004
- Rapid development of subacute myelopathy in three organ transplant recipients after transmission of human T-cell lymphotropic virus Type I from a single donorTransplantation, 2003
- Quantification of HTLV Type I and HIV Type 1 DNA Load in Coinfected Patients: HIV Type 1 Infection Does Not Alter HTLV Type I Proviral Amount in the Peripheral Blood CompartmentAIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, 2001
- A prospective study of transmission by transfusion of HTLV‐I and risk factors associated with seroconversionInternational Journal of Cancer, 1992
- Transmission of human T-lymphotropic virus type I by blood components from a donor lacking anti-p24: a case report. The Transfusion Safety Study GroupTransfusion, 1992
- Rapid Development of Myelopathy after HTLV-I Infection Acquired by Transfusion during Cardiac TransplantationThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1990
- HTLV-I ASSOCIATED MYELOPATHY, A NEW CLINICAL ENTITYThe Lancet, 1986
- ANTIBODIES TO HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TYPE-I IN PATIENTS WITH TROPICAL SPASTIC PARAPARESISThe Lancet, 1985