title: Emerging issues in blood safety.
abstract: Improvements in donor selection, testing of donors for markers of infection, and viral inactivation of plasma-derived products have helped reduce the risk of transfusion-associated infections, including hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). The potential for transmission of emerging infections is illustrated by current concerns about group O strains of HIV, nonenveloped viruses, newly discovered microbial agents, prions, Chagas' disease, tick-borne infections, and the need to assess the frequency of transfusion reactions associated with bacterial contamination.
authors.affiliation: Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chamberland
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Khabbaz
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D001782:Blood Donors; D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D006801:Humans; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*