Assessment of the effectiveness of West Nile virus screening by analysing suspected positive donations among blood donors, Germany, 2020 to 2023.

ABSTRACT: BackgroundThe first autochthonous human West Nile virus (WNV)-positive cases in Germany were confirmed in 2019. Risk minimisation measures (RMM) were introduced in 2020; no WNV transfusion-transmitted infections have been reported to date.AimTo analyse German suspected WNV-positive blood donations during annual seasons 2020-23 to review donor testing requirements.MethodsWNV look-back procedures were initiated as per German regulations and additional donor data were collected. Blood samples were analysed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), individual donor nucleic acid amplification technique (ID-NAT)-based testing and antibody (Ab) testing.ResultsSeventy-four cases were followed up after WNV-positive donor mini-pool screening. Forty-five (83%) of 54 samples tested with the co

SUBMITTER: Orru' S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11869365 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature