Seroprevalence of anti‐WNV IgG antibodies and WNV‐RNA in Egyptian blood donors

Abstract

Transmission of West Nile virus (WNV) from asymptomatic donors has been reported during blood transfusions and organ transplants in humans. In this work, we aimed to investigate the presence of WNV antibody and WNV RNA in blood donors to evaluate the sero-prevalence of WNV and risk for WNV transmission. One hundred and sixty blood donors were tested for the presence of anti-WNV IgG by ELISA and for WNVs 1 and 2 RNA by RT-PCR. About 55% of blood donors were seropositive for WNV IgG antibodies, with significantly higher percentage of positive donors coming from rural areas and Nile Delta region compared to other donors. Using RT-PCR all donors were negative for viral RNA of both WNV lineages 1 and 2. High sero-prevelance of WNV antibodies in asymptomatic blood donors denotes endemicity of the WNV in Egypt and points to the importance of routine screening of blood donors for WNV RNA. On the other hand the absence of WNV RNA by RT-PCR indicates apparent low risk of the blood products as regards WNV transmission. Further studies into significance of WNV seronegativity among Rh negative donors and into the use of WNV seropositive blood in prophylaxis or treatment of WNV neuroinvasive disease are recommended. J. Med. Virol. 89:1323-1329, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Seroprevalence of West Nile Virus in Regular Blood Donors Referred to the Blood Bank of Kurdistan Province, Iran

“…In particular, studies in Northern Cyprus and Hungary had been conducted on blood donors. Nevertheless, contrasting results had also been observed in studies conducted on blood donors in Sudan (44.4%) and Egypt (55%) [26,27], which are inconsistent with the findings of this study. In a study conducted in Israel on samples collected in Serum Bank of Israel, 11.1% of cases had positive antibody [28].…”

Spatial distribution of West Nile virus in humans and mosquitoes in Israel, 2000–2014

“…A WNV infection rate of 0.45 per 100 000 persons per year was recently reported in the continental USA, with California having the highest infection rate detected in this country at 1.49 per 100 000 persons per year (Krow-Lucal et al, 2017). WNV seroprevalence of 2.1%, 2.5%, 2.6%, 6.5%, 27.2%, and 55% has been reported from Greece, Turkey, New York, Spain, Gabon, and Egypt, respectively (Biceroglu et al, 2015;Hadjichristodoulou et al, 2015;Mostashari et al, 2001;Piron et al, 2015;Pourrut et al, 2010;Youssef et al, 2017), while rates of WNVinfected mosquitoes of 0.06% and 1.9% have been measured in Spain and Italy, respectively (Calzolari et al, 2015;Engler et al, 2013). In contrast, the present study points to much higher levels of WNV prevalence in Israel.…”

Epidemiology of Mosquito-Borne Viruses in Egypt: A Systematic Review

“…In 1999, the WNV antibody had the highest seropositivity rate (143/264, 54.14%) among MBVs in Egyptian workers at sewage treatment plants (STPs) [ 47 ]. Recently, the sera collected between 2013 and 2014, mainly from the rural areas of the Nile Valley governorates, of more than half of blood donors (88/160, 55%) were seropositive for WNV IgG antibodies [ 58 ].…”

“…The seropositivity rate for WNV in humans continuously increased in the second half of the last century and affected more than half of the workers at STPs [ 47 ] and blood donors [ 58 ]. The seroconversion test for WNV in humans from Upper, Middle, and Lower Egypt, conducted at the beginning of the 2000s, showed that 15% of individuals, on average, were positive for WNV antibodies in a single year, which indicated that WNV was actively circulating during this period [ 57 ].…”