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Keywords: Transfusion medicine; Blood banks; Virus diseases; Epidemics; Infectious diseases; Virology; Poxviridae infections EN Transfusion medicine Blood banks Virus diseases Epidemics Infectious diseases Virology Poxviridae infections 206 208 3 03/21/23 20230315 NES 230315 Ongoing surveillance for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases is essential to assess their impact on blood and breastmilk safety Before 2022, human mpox (formerly monkeypox) was rarely reported outside Africa,[1] but in May 2022, an outbreak of human mpox was reported in historically non-endemic countries. Since the 2022 outbreak, the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood (www.lifeblood.com.au) has put in place specific MPXV deferrals whereby donors with diagnosed MPXV infection are deferred for four weeks from the date of recovery, and donors who are close contacts are deferred for four weeks from the date of last contact with the infectious person. Transfusion medicine, Blood banks, Virus diseases, Epidemics, Infectious diseases, Poxviridae infections, Virology In addition, for donations used to manufacture plasma-derived products, the virus inactivation and removal steps would likely inactivate infectious MPXV if present.[19] Despite MPXV being theoretically transfusion-transmissible, no cases have been reported. [Extracted from the article]

While the transfusion-transmission (TT) risk associated with the major transfusion-relevant viruses such as HIV is now very low, during the last 20 years there has been a growing awareness of the threat to blood safety from emerging infectious diseases, a number of which are known to be, or are potentially, transfusion transmissible. Two published models for estimating the transfusion-transmission risk from EIDs, referred to as the Biggerstaff-Petersen model and the European Upfront Risk Assessment Tool (EUFRAT), respectively, have been applied to several EIDs in outbreak situations. We describe and compare the methodological principles of both models, highlighting their similarities and differences. We also discuss the appropriateness of comparing results from the two models. Quantitating the TT risk of EIDs can inform decisions about risk mitigation strategies and their cost-effectiveness. Finally, we present a qualitative risk assessment for Zika virus (ZIKV), an EID agent that has caused several outbreaks since 2007. In the latest and largest ever outbreak, several probable cases of transfusion-transmission ZIKV have been reported, indicating that it is transfusion-transmissible and therefore a risk to blood safety. We discuss why quantitative modeling the TT risk of ZIKV is currently problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are infectious diseases whose incidence has increased in humans in the past 20 years or could increase in the near future. EID agents may represent a threat to blood safety if they infect humans, cause a clinically significant illness, include an asymptomatic blood phase in the course of infection, and are transmissible by transfusion. EID agents are typically not well characterised, but there is a consensus that we can expect ongoing outbreaks. Strategies to manage the risk to blood safety from EIDs include ongoing surveillance, regular risk assessments, modelling transfusion transmission risk, and deferral of donors with a recent travel history to outbreak areas. The 2015-16 Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in the Americas is the largest reported ZIKV outbreak to date, and it highlights the unpredictable nature of EID outbreaks and how quickly they can become a major public health problem. This ZIKV outbreak has provided evidence of a causal link between the virus and microcephaly in newborns. In assessing the potential risk of ZIKV to blood safety in Australia, it should be noted that a relatively small number of imported ZIKV infections have been reported in Australia, there have been no reported cases of local ZIKV transmission, and the geographical distribution of the potential ZIKV mosquito vector in Australia (Aedes aegypti) is limited to northern Queensland. Moreover, reported transfusion-transmitted ZIKV cases worldwide are rare. At present, ZIKV represents a low risk to blood safety in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confirming transfusion-transmitted viral infections in the molecular age: time to get back to the basic definition of infection for hemovigilance However, it is important to distinguish between the risk of donor infection and the risk of a recipient TTI. Emerging infectious diseases and blood safety: modeling the transfusion-transmission risk. [Extracted from the article]