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Blood transfusion and spread of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Klaus Dietz1, Günter Raddatz, Jonathan Wallis

  • 1University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. klaus.dietz@uni-tuebingen.de

Emerging Infectious Diseases
|March 21, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Excluding blood donors who received transfusions prevents less than 1% of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) cases. This measure is ineffective for preventing vCJD transmission via blood components alone.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Infectious Disease Transmission
  • Public Health Policy

Background:

  • Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) poses a potential risk for transmission through blood transfusions.
  • Several countries have implemented donor deferral policies, excluding individuals with a history of blood transfusion to mitigate this risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of excluding blood donors with a history of transfusion in preventing vCJD transmission.
  • To model the potential impact of this policy on vCJD epidemiology.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a dynamic, age-structured mathematical model.
  • Incorporation of epidemiologic data including blood donor activities, vCJD case-control data, recipient age distribution, and recipient mortality rates.

Main Results:

  • The model predicts that vCJD, introduced via the alimentary route, cannot become endemic solely through blood transfusion.
  • Excluding individuals who have received blood transfusions is projected to prevent fewer than 1% of vCJD cases.

Conclusions:

  • The current policy of excluding blood donors with a transfusion history is largely ineffective in preventing vCJD spread.
  • Alternative or supplementary strategies are likely necessary to control vCJD transmission through the blood supply.

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