Epidemiological Survey and Screening Strategy for Dengue Virus in Blood Donors from Yunnan Province

BACKGROUND Dengue virus (DENV) can be transmitted through blood transfusion. DENV was not screened regularly in Xishuangbanna Blood Center. This study was conducted in Xishuangbanna Blood Center with an attempt to develop DENV screening strategies in one of China’s high-incidence areas.METHODS Blood samples were collected randomly between June 2019 and August 2019. These samples were first screened for dengue IgG and IgM antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All reactive samples and some randomly-chosen non-reactive samples were used to detect DENV RNAs using real time polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay. After RT-PCR assay, these samples were further tested for soluble nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) using colloidal gold method. The demographic data of DENV positive donors were collected.RESULTS A total of 2,254 donor samples were collected and tested for dengue IgG and IgM antibodies by ELISA between June 2019 and August 2019. ELISA testing revealed that 598 donor samples were anti-IgG and/or anti-IgM reactive, with a serological prevalence rate of 26.53%. Among all the donor samples, 26 were RT-PCR positive and/or NS1 positive. Moreover, there were significant differences in the prevalence rate of DENV in terms of occupation (P=0.001), education(P) and ethnicity (P=0.026). CONCLUSION The prevalence of DENV in Xishuangbanna Blood Center was higher than most other blood centers that have implemented DENV donor screening. Our study provides the first-hand data about the prevalence of DENV and allows development of a screening strategy for clinical use.