Molecular identification of the emerging Human Gemykibivirus-2 (HuGkV-2) among Brazilian blood donors

Victória Simionatto Zucherato; Marta Giovanetti; Lara Okuyama Afonso Costa; Luciana Maria Fontanari Krause; Daiani Cristina Cilião Alves; Renata Maria Alencar Moreira; Barbara Maciel Sidou Pimentel; Rodrigo Haddad; Hellen Tayaná Bitencourt; Massimo Ciccozzi; Luiz Carlos Júnior Alcantara; Simone Kashima; Dimas Tadeu Covas; Svetoslav Nanev Slavov

doi:10.1016/j.transci.2022.103516

Molecular identification of the emerging Human Gemykibivirus-2 (HuGkV-2) among Brazilian blood donors

Transfus Apher Sci. 2023 Feb;62(1):103516. doi: 10.1016/j.transci.2022.103516. Epub 2022 Jul 26.

Authors

Victória Simionatto Zucherato¹, Marta Giovanetti², Lara Okuyama Afonso Costa¹, Luciana Maria Fontanari Krause³, Daiani Cristina Cilião Alves⁴, Renata Maria Alencar Moreira⁵, Barbara Maciel Sidou Pimentel⁵, Rodrigo Haddad⁶, Hellen Tayaná Bitencourt⁷, Massimo Ciccozzi⁸, Luiz Carlos Júnior Alcantara⁹, Simone Kashima¹, Dimas Tadeu Covas¹⁰, Svetoslav Nanev Slavov¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Blood Center of Ribeirão Preto, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
² Laboratory of Flaviviruses, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Department of Science and Technology for Humans and the Environment, University of Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Morphology, Faculty of Medicine of the Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
⁴ gBlood Center of Brasília, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil.
⁵ Euro-American University Center, UNIEURO, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil.
⁶ Faculty of Ceilandia, University of Brasília, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil.
⁷ Institute of Hematology and Hemotherapy of Amapa, Macapa, Amapa, Brazil.
⁸ Epidemiology and Statistic Unit, University of Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy.
⁹ Laboratory of Flaviviruses, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
¹⁰ Blood Center of Ribeirão Preto, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Butantan Institute, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
¹¹ Blood Center of Ribeirão Preto, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil; Butantan Institute, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: svetoslav.slavov@butantan.org.br.

PMID: 35941020
DOI: 10.1016/j.transci.2022.103516

Abstract

Human gemykibivirus-2 (HuGkV-2) belonging to the Gemykibivirus genus (Genomoviridae family) is an emerging DNA virus which has been described as a component of the virome of a wide variety of samples including clinical ones. So far, the HuGkV-2 DNA prevalence in the human population as well as its clinical impact are completely unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the HuGkV-2 DNA prevalence among Brazilian healthy blood donors from three different geographic regions. A total of 450 blood samples were screened for HuGkV-2 DNA (150 samples were from the Brazilian Amazon, 150 from Midwest Brazil and 150 from South Brazil). The overall HuGkV-2 DNA prevalence was 7.8 %. Considering the examined regions, the highest prevalence was observed in the Brazilian Amazon (city of Macapa, state of Amapa), 15.3 %, followed by the Midwest Brazil (city of Brasilia, Federal District) (6.0 %) and South Brazil (city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State) (2.0 %). This study gives preliminary insights on the molecular prevalence of HuGkV-2 DNA among Brazilian blood donors, highlighting that the highest HuGkV-2 prevalence was recorded in the Brazilian Amazon. However, more studies regarding the prevalence, transmission routes and any possible clinical effects appear to be crucial in order to understand the impact of this emerging viral agent.

Keywords: Blood donors; Brazil; HuGkV-2; Human Gemykbivirus-2; Prevalence.

MeSH terms

Blood Donors*
Brazil / epidemiology
Humans
Prevalence