An international study on emerging arboviral infections and blood safety
(2026) In Transfusion- Abstract
Background: Emerging and re-emerging arboviral infections are a risk to blood safety. We conducted an international survey on how blood establishments respond to current and future arbovirus threats. Study Design and Methods: A questionnaire on arbovirus donor deferral strategies, pathogen reduction, and donation screening was distributed to members of the International Society of Blood Transfusion working party on transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases. Data from 2024 were gathered and analyzed. Results: A total of 23 survey responses were received from 21 countries. This covered a population of 1.45 billion people and 29.9 million blood donations collected in 2024. All respondents applied travel-based donor deferrals, whereas... (More)
Background: Emerging and re-emerging arboviral infections are a risk to blood safety. We conducted an international survey on how blood establishments respond to current and future arbovirus threats. Study Design and Methods: A questionnaire on arbovirus donor deferral strategies, pathogen reduction, and donation screening was distributed to members of the International Society of Blood Transfusion working party on transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases. Data from 2024 were gathered and analyzed. Results: A total of 23 survey responses were received from 21 countries. This covered a population of 1.45 billion people and 29.9 million blood donations collected in 2024. All respondents applied travel-based donor deferrals, whereas pathogen reduction, implemented by half of the respondents, was mostly applied for a selection of plasma and platelet donations. West Nile virus (WNV) was the only arbovirus blood donations were screened for by nine respondents from eight countries, with 256 donations confirmed as WNV RNA-positive in 2024. No transfusion-transmitted WNV infections were reported. Discussion: Blood safety measures remain limited and unevenly distributed globally, and in their present form, are unlikely to provide protection against the growing range of emerging arboviruses. Donor deferral may not always be a sustainable blood safety strategy alone for all blood operators, due to large-scale outbreaks associated with these viruses. While pathogen reduction methodologies are being developed to be applied to all blood components, risk assessments for (re)-emerging arboviruses, such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses, should be performed to determine if additional mitigation, such as blood donation screening, is warranted.
(Less)
- author
- author collaboration
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- Transfusion
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105042299474
- pmid:42313434
- ISSN
- 0041-1132
- DOI
- 10.1111/trf.70306
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 9c5c856e-fa44-4755-89e4-9400ae4fc30e
- date added to LUP
- 2026-09-16 11:18:18
- date last changed
- 2026-09-17 03:00:07
@article{9c5c856e-fa44-4755-89e4-9400ae4fc30e,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Emerging and re-emerging arboviral infections are a risk to blood safety. We conducted an international survey on how blood establishments respond to current and future arbovirus threats. Study Design and Methods: A questionnaire on arbovirus donor deferral strategies, pathogen reduction, and donation screening was distributed to members of the International Society of Blood Transfusion working party on transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases. Data from 2024 were gathered and analyzed. Results: A total of 23 survey responses were received from 21 countries. This covered a population of 1.45 billion people and 29.9 million blood donations collected in 2024. All respondents applied travel-based donor deferrals, whereas pathogen reduction, implemented by half of the respondents, was mostly applied for a selection of plasma and platelet donations. West Nile virus (WNV) was the only arbovirus blood donations were screened for by nine respondents from eight countries, with 256 donations confirmed as WNV RNA-positive in 2024. No transfusion-transmitted WNV infections were reported. Discussion: Blood safety measures remain limited and unevenly distributed globally, and in their present form, are unlikely to provide protection against the growing range of emerging arboviruses. Donor deferral may not always be a sustainable blood safety strategy alone for all blood operators, due to large-scale outbreaks associated with these viruses. While pathogen reduction methodologies are being developed to be applied to all blood components, risk assessments for (re)-emerging arboviruses, such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses, should be performed to determine if additional mitigation, such as blood donation screening, is warranted.</p>}},
author = {{Rajendra, Piya and Faddy, Helen M. and Candotti, Daniel and Bub, Carolina B. and Kutner, Jose M. and Drews, Steven J. and Charlton, Carmen L. and O'Brien, Sheila F. and Tsoi, Wai Chiu and Garcia-Otalora, Michel Andres and Reynolds, Claire and Palukka, Tuulia and Lehtisalo, Riikka and Offergeld, Ruth and Seltsam, Axel and Weber-Schehl, Marijke and Chenarsabz, Nahid and Goto, Naoko and Park, Sung Chan and Kwon, So Yong and Lieshout-Krikke, Ryanne and Kopacz, Aneta and Sulkowska, Ewa and Șerban, Oana Alexandra and Ruta, Simona and Zhiburt, Eugene and Badawi, Maha and Mitchel, Josephine and Jentsch, Ute and Herraiz, Ángel Luis Pajares and Guijosa, Ana Lafuente and Şahin, Gülşen Özkaya and Niederhauser, Christoph and Lanteri, Marion C. and Custer, Brian and Conti, Galen and Cheng, Anthea and Secret, Shannah and Simmonds, Peter and Harvala, Heli}},
issn = {{0041-1132}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Transfusion}},
title = {{An international study on emerging arboviral infections and blood safety}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/trf.70306}},
doi = {{10.1111/trf.70306}},
year = {{2026}},
}