A case series of inactivated Japanese encephalitis virus vaccination associated with positive West Nile virus blood donor screening nucleic acid tests

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND West Nile Virus (WNV) is a member of the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) serocomplex within the Flaviviridae family. We report four whole blood donors and one plasma donor with WNV nucleic acid test (NAT)‐reactive donations between September 2018 and November 2019, following recent Ja...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transfusion (Philadelphia, Pa.) Pa.), 2020-05, Vol.60 (5), p.1097-1103
Main Authors: Drews, Steven J., Makowski, Kai, Wood, Heidi, Dimitrova, Kristina, Yan, Matthew T.S., Young, Dale, Skeate, Robert, Ng, Michiko, Hawes, Gordon, Fearon, Margaret, Bigham, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Blood
Blood & organ donations
Blood donors
Dilution
Encephalitis
Immunization
Microbiology
Nucleic acids
Screening
Vaccination
Vaccines
Vector-borne diseases
Viruses
West Nile virus
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Summary:ABSTRACT BACKGROUND West Nile Virus (WNV) is a member of the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) serocomplex within the Flaviviridae family. We report four whole blood donors and one plasma donor with WNV nucleic acid test (NAT)‐reactive donations between September 2018 and November 2019, following recent Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV) vaccination. CASE SERIES Cases 1 and 4 had reactive WNV NAT donations 1 day after receiving the JEV vaccine. Case 2 had a reactive WNV donation 3 days after receiving the JEV vaccine. Case 3 had a reactive WNV NAT donation 3 days after returning from Arizona and 1 day after receiving the JEV vaccine. Case 5 had a reactive WNV donation the same day as receiving the JEV vaccine. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS WNV screening used the Roche cobas WNV nucleic acid test (NAT) (Roche Molecular Systems). Reference testing on WNV‐reactive donations was carried out by the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML). JEV vaccine dilutions were also analyzed. RESULTS Supplemental NAT was negative for WNV and JEV for Cases 1, 3, and 5. Case 2 had a weak amplification curve for one of two JEV NAT targets. Case 4 was JEV NAT‐positive, WNV NAT‐negative. Serologic testing on donation specimens for Cases 2, 4, and 5 did not support recent or remote WNV infection. JEV vaccine dilutions were detected by both cobas and supplemental NAT. CONCLUSIONS We recommend implementing a temporary blood donor deferral following a JEV vaccination, if screening utilizes a WNV assay with the capability of detecting other members of the JE serocomplex.
ISSN:0041-1132
1537-2995
DOI:10.1111/trf.15744