Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus does not pose a risk to blood recipient safety

• Published in: Transfusion (Philadelphia, Pa.) Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 298 - 306
• Main Authors: Dodd, Roger Y., Hackett Jr, John, Linnen, Jeffrey M., Dorsey, Kerri, Wu, Yanyun, Zou, Shimian, Qiu, Xiaoxing, Swanson, Priscilla, Schochetman, Gerald, Gao, Kui, Carrick, James M., Krysztof, David E., Stramer, Susan L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.02.2012; Wiley
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Antibodies; Biological and medical sciences; Blood donors; Blood Donors - statistics & numerical data; Blood Safety - methods; Blood Specimen Collection - methods; Blood Specimen Collection - standards; Blood Specimen Collection - statistics & numerical data; Blood. Blood and plasma substitutes. Blood products. Blood cells. Blood typing. Plasmapheresis. Apheresis; chronic fatigue syndrome; fatigue; Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic - blood; Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic - epidemiology; Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic - etiology; Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic - virology; Female; Human viral diseases; Humans; infection; Infectious diseases; Leukemia; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Murine leukemia virus; Retroviridae Infections - blood; Retroviridae Infections - epidemiology; Retroviridae Infections - transmission; Retroviridae Infections - virology; Risk Factors; RNA; RNA, Viral - blood; RNA, Viral - isolation & purification; safety engineering; Serologic Tests; Transfusion; Transfusions. Complications. Transfusion reactions. Cell and gene therapy; Transplantation - physiology; Transplantation - statistics & numerical data; Viral diseases; Viruses; Xenotropic; Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus - genetics; Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus - isolation & purification; Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus - physiology; Virus; Gammaretrovirus; Transfusion; Risk factor; Retroviridae; Murine leukemia virus; Recipient
• ISSN: 0041-1132; 1537-2995
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2011.03450.x

BACKGROUND: When xenotropic murine leukemia virus–related virus (XMRV) was first reported in association with chronic fatigue syndrome, it was suggested that it might offer a risk to blood safety. Thus, the prevalence of the virus among blood donors and, if present, its transmissibility by transfusion need to be defined. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Two populations of routine blood donor samples (1435 and 13,399) were obtained for prevalence evaluations; samples from a linked donor‐recipient repository were also evaluated. Samples were tested for the presence of antibodies to XMRV‐related recombinant antigens and/or for XMRV RNA, using validated, high‐throughput systems. RESULTS: The presence of antibodies to XMRV could not be confirmed among a total of 17,249 blood donors or recipients (0%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0%‐0.017%); 1763 tested samples were nonreactive for XMRV RNA (0%; 95% CI, 0%‐0.17%). Evidence of infection was absent from 109 recipients and 830 evaluable blood samples tested after transfusion of a total of 3741 blood components. CONCLUSIONS: XMRV and related murine leukemia virus (MLV) markers are not present among a large population of blood donors and evidence of transfusion transmission could not be detected. Thus, these viruses do not currently pose a threat to blood recipient safety and further actions relating to XMRV and MLV are not justified.