ABSTRACT
In France, blood donations are tested in pools of 96 samples for parvovirus B19 (B19V) DNA to discard plasma for fractionation when it contains high viral loads. Between January 2015 and March 2024, B19V-positive donations decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a strong rebound in 2023 and unusually high circulation during winter 2023/24 (ca 10 times higher December 2023-March 2024 vs the pre-pandemic period). Variations over time are probably related to measures implemented to limit SARS-CoV-2 spread.
Subject(s)
Blood Donors , Parvoviridae Infections , Parvovirus B19, Human , Humans , Blood Donation , Blood Donors/statistics & numerical data , COVID-19/epidemiology , DNA, Viral/blood , France/epidemiology , Mass Screening , Pandemics , Parvoviridae Infections/blood , Parvoviridae Infections/epidemiology , Parvovirus B19, Human/isolation & purification , Seasons , Viral LoadSubject(s)
Hepatitis A virus , Hepatitis A , Blood Donors , Disease Outbreaks , European Union , France , Humans , Prevalence , RNAABSTRACT
Since mid-2016, hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreaks, involving predominantly men who have sex with men (MSM), have affected countries in Europe and overseas. In France, HAV screening of blood donations in 2017 revealed a HAV-RNA prevalence ca fivefold higher than during 2015-16 (4.42/106 vs 0.86/106; p = 0.0005). In 2017, despite a higher male-to-female ratio (5.5 vs 0.7) and the identification of MSM-associated outbreak strains, only one of 11 infected male donors self-reported being a MSM.
Subject(s)
Hepatitis A virus/isolation & purification , Hepatitis A/epidemiology , Homosexuality, Male/statistics & numerical data , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Blood Donors , Disease Outbreaks , Female , France/epidemiology , Hepatitis A virus/genetics , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a recently reemerged arbovirus responsible for a massive outbreak of infection in the Indian Ocean region and India that has a very significant potential to spread globally because of the worldwide distribution of its mosquito vectors. CHIKV induces a usually self-limited disease in humans that is characterized by fever, arthralgia, myalgia, and rash; however, cases of severe CHIKV infection have recently been described, particularly in adults with underlying condition and neonates born to viremic mothers. METHODS: Human polyvalent immunoglobulins were purified from plasma samples obtained from donors in the convalescent phase of CHIKV infection, and the preventive and curative effects of these immunoglobulins were investigated in 2 mouse models of CHIKV infection that we developed. RESULTS: CHIKV immunoglobulins contain anti-CHIKV antibodies and exhibit a high in vitro neutralizing activity and a powerful prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy against CHIKV infection in vivo, including in the neonate. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of CHIKV immunoglobulins may constitute a safe and efficacious prevention strategy and treatment for individuals exposed to CHIKV who are at risk of severe infection, such as neonates born to viremic mothers and adults with underlying conditions. These results provide a proof-of-concept for purifying human immunoglobulins from plasma samples from patients in the convalescent phase of an emerging infectious disease for which neither prevention nor treatment is available.
