Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections may be acquired through transfusion of blood components. As transfusion-transmitted infections mostly affect vulnerable individuals, measures to ensure the supply of safe blood components are under discussion. On the basis of the epidemiological situation in Germany, different testing strategy scenarios were investigated through simulation studies. Testing for HEV RNA by nucleic acid amplification technique (NAT) assays with a pool size of 96, and a 95% LoD of 20 IU/ml will result in an 80% reduction in expected HEV transmissions as well as of consequent chronic infections with subsequent severe complications.
Keywords: blood donation testing; blood safety; epidemiology; hemovigilance; infections; residual risk estimation; transfusion transmissible.
© 2018 The Authors. Vox Sanguinis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Blood Transfusion.