Clive R. Seed

Residual risk of transfusion transmitted human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human T lymphotrophic virus

Abstract

Assessing the accuracy of three viral risk models in predicting the outcome of implementing HIV and HCV NAT donor screening in Australia and the implications for future HBV NAT.

BACKGROUND : Risk modeling is now the most practical method of estimating the residual risk of viral transmission in developed countries. One method of assessing the accuracy of a risk model is to measure the observed against the predicted outcome after implementing a new screening method. The primary objective of this paper is to assess the accuracy of three published models in predicting the impact of implementing HIV and HCV NAT in Australia.

Comparison of two automated nucleic acid testing systems for simultaneous detection of human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus RNA and hepatitis B virus DNA

BACKGROUND: Recently developed nucleic acid testing (NAT) assays incorporating simultaneous detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis B virus (HBV) have made HBV NAT screening more feasible for blood services. This study compared the performance of two “multiplex” NAT assays and their automated testing platforms.

Residual risk of transfusion‐transmitted viral infections in Shenzhen, China, 2001 through 2004

BACKGROUND: There are no current estimates of the residual risks of transmission by blood of hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in China. Such estimates are an essential prerequisite to monitoring and improving transfusion safety as well as supporting evidence based assessment of the value of implementing new screening interventions.

The Risk of HIV, HBV, HCV and HTLV Infection Among Musculoskeletal Tissue Donors in Australia

In Australia, there are no current national estimates of the risks of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) or human T‐lymphotrophic virus (HTLV) by musculoskeletal tissue transplantation. We determined the prevalence rates of antibodies against HIV (anti‐HIV), HCV (anti‐HCV) and HTLV (anti‐HTLV) and Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for 12 415 musculoskeletal tissue donors from three major bone tissue banks across Australia for the period 1993–2004. The prevalence (per 100  000 persons) was 64.44 for anti‐HIV, 407.13 for HBsAg, 534.63 for anti‐HCV and 121.88 for anti‐HTLV. The estimated probability of viremia at the time of donation was 1 in 128  000, 1 in 189  000, 1 in 55  000 and 1 in 118  000, respectively. With the addition of nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT), the probability of donor viremia would be reduced to 1 in 315  000 for HIV, 1 in 385  000 for HBV and 1 in 500  000 for HCV. The prevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and HTLV although low, are higher among musculoskeletal tissue donors than among first‐time blood donors. The risks associated with musculoskeletal donation will be reduced with NAT, though further cost analysis is required prior to its implementation.

The risk of dengue transmission by blood during a 2004 outbreak in Cairns, Australia

BACKGROUND: Dengue virus (DENV) is a Flavivirus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito. The related arbovirus, West Nile virus, has been shown to be transfusion transmitted, which, added to the four recorded dengue transfusion‐associated cases, indicates that DENV is also transfusion transmitted. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk of transfusion‐transmitted DENV during a 2004 outbreak in the Australian city of Cairns.

No evidence of a significantly increased risk of transfusion-transmitted human immunodeficiency virus infection in Australia subsequent to implementing a 12-month deferral for men who have had sex with men.

BACKGROUND: Male‐to‐male sex is the predominant route of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in Australia and since the early 1980s blood services in Australia have deferred donors for this practice for at least 5 years. This retrospective analysis assesses the impact on HIV prevalence of implementing an abridged 12‐month deferral for male‐to‐male sex.

Improved efficiency of national HIV, HCV, and HTLV antibody testing algorithms based on sequential screening immunoassays

BACKGROUND : Traditional strategies for clarifying the antibody status of donors giving repeatedly reactive (RR) results on primary screening immunoassays (IA1) have usually involved direct testing by immunoblot. However, such strategies can generate nonspecific in determinate results. The aim of this report is to present the results of an alternative strategy based on the use of sequential immunoassays (SI) before immunoblot testing.

Implications of Dengue Outbreaks for Blood Supply, Australia

Dengue outbreaks have increased in size and frequency in Australia, and transfusion-transmitted dengue poses a risk to transfusion safety. Using whole blood samples collected during the large 2008–2009 dengue epidemic, we estimated the risk for a dengue-infectious blood donation as ≈1 in 7,146 (range 2,218–50,021).

The efficacy of a malarial antibody enzyme immunoassay for establishing the reinstatement status of blood donors potentially exposed to malaria

Background and Objectives  The two key objectives of the study were, first, to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a recombinant antigen‐based malarial enzyme‐linked immunoassay (EIA) and, second, to estimate the risk associated with implementing this test with a shortened cellular component restriction period (6 months rather than the standard 12–36 months) for blood donors with a malarial risk exposure.