NAT screening of blood donors for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus can potentially prevent transfusion associated transmissions.
BACKGROUND
The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was first described in February 2003. Close contact with symptomatic patients appears to be the main route of transmission, whereas blood transfusion transmission could not be ruled out.


METHODS
A SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) detection kit developed by C. Drosten (Bernhard Nocht Institute, BNI) was used to amplify SARS-CoV sequences from blood donor samples. We tested 31,151 blood donor samples in minipools of up to 96 samples. To validate the sensitivity of the assay, routine donor minipools (88 +/- 8 samples per pool) were spiked with plasma of an imported case of SARS or of a subsequently infected contact person, respectively. Gamma-irradiated cell culture supernatants of Vero E6 cells, infected with SARS-CoV, were used as positive controls.


RESULTS
None of 31,151 blood donors were positive for the presence of SARS. Two 96-member plasma pools that were each spiked with 100 microL of plasma of the German index patient or his wife, respectively, were positive. Overall, 0.85 percent of test results had to be considered invalid owing to negative internal controls.


CONCLUSIONS
A real-time CoV PCR test is able to detect SARS-CoV in viremic blood donor samples even in the beginning of the disease when patients present minor clinical symptoms. Thus the assay could potentially help to prevent transfusion-associated SARS-CoV transmissions.
Schmidt
Michael
M
Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology, German Red Cross, Johan Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany. mschmidt@bsdhessen.de
Brixner
Veronika
V
Ruster
Brigitte
B
Hourfar
Michael K
MK
Drosten
Christian
C
Preiser
Wolfgang
W
Seifried
Erhard
E
Roth
W Kurt
WK
D001782:Blood Donors; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000592:standards*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic / Q000592:standards; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000235:genetics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
D012367:RNA, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic