Emerging infectious disease agents and blood safety in Australia: spotlight on Zika virus

Abstract

Summary 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.

Emerging infectious disease agents and blood safety in Australia: spotlight on Zika virus

“…We thank Wiwanitkit for the comments on our review 1 . We agree that the absence of reported transfusion‐transmission of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Australia is not definitive evidence that this type of ZIKV transmission has not occurred or will not occur in the future.…”

Prevalence of Zika virus in blood donations: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…However, there are opposite attitudes towards mandating routine screening of ZIKV in blood collections because it is time-consuming and costly. Some consider that the TT risk of Zika in their country is low [15, 16], and there is no urgent need to introduce universal screening of donated blood for ZIKV [17]. On the other hand, some studies mentioned that present measures were not effective enough to prevent transfusion of ZIKV RNA-reactive blood products, and ZIKV NAT should be used [18, 19].…”

Emerging infectious disease agents and blood safety in Australia: spotlight on Zika virus

“…I found the article by Kiely and colleagues 1 very interesting. The authors concluded that “it should be noted that a relatively small number of imported ZIKV [Zika virus] 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,” and that “at present, ZIKV represents a low risk to blood safety in Australia.” 1 …”