Abstract
Background and objectivesZika virus is a flavivirus transmitted by Aedes mosquitos. A discussed transmission route is by blood transfusion due to the large number of ZIKV asymptomatic cases. The objective of the study was to estimate the ZIKV IgG seroprevalence and RNA presence in blood donors from a Hemotherapy Service in Southern Brazil due to the fact that until the end of 2016, 851 ZIKV suspected cases, 51.2% of which were with autochthons transmission were reported in this Brazilian region.Materials and methodsFive hundred blood samples were collected from blood donors between 5 December 2016 and 6 January 2017 in the Hemotherapy Service of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. All samples were tested for the presence of ZIKV RNA by the use of TaqMan® real‐time PCR and 182 of these were serologically assessed for ZIKV IgG.ResultsNo samples showed positive results for ZIKV RNA. However, the serological survey detected one positive sample for ZIKV IgG and four samples with optical density values in the grey zone (consequently three of them confirmed as Dengue IgG‐positive). This indicates a 0.55% seroprevalence of ZIKV IgG among volunteer blood donors in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil.ConclusionOur results demonstrate that although the transfusion risk of ZIKV in the south part of the country can be currently considered as low, further outbreaks cannot be excluded due to lack of herd immunity to ZIKV. Our study adds to the national and global prevalence of ZIKV among blood donors and its implications for the transfusion safety.
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