In:
British Journal of Haematology, Wiley, Vol. 88, No. 1 ( 1994-09), p. 187-192
Abstract:
Summary. In order to evaluate the prevalence of HHV‐6 in blood donors, we examined 112 persons by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and ELISA. HHV‐6 antibodies could be detected in 107/111 (96.4%) of the donors. The median ELISA antibody level was 0.451 (range 0.056–0.914). 14 individuals (12.5%) were PCR positive in either oral lavage fluid, urine or buffy coat. Six persons (5.4%) were PCR positive in buffy coat samples. The prospective longitudinal analysis of 11 donors for periods between 7 and 13 weeks revealed that 4/6 persons who were initially PCR negative had positive tests in 9/63 weeks studied. Two persons were consistently PCR positive over the whole observation period of 12 and 13 weeks. HHV‐6 variants could be determined in 14 persons as variant A in nine and variant B in five cases. These observations emphasize the high prevalance of HHV‐6 and suggest that some blood donors carry detectable concentrations of the virus and therefore may be a source for transmission of HHV‐6. The finding of positive PCR in antibody negative individuals suggests that antibody determination may not be sufficient to identify potentially infectious persons.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0007-1048
,
1365-2141
DOI:
10.1111/bjh.1994.88.issue-1
DOI:
10.1111/j.1365-2141.1994.tb04995.x
Language:
English
Publisher:
Wiley
Publication Date:
1994
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1475751-5
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