Transfusion-transmitted arboviruses: Update and systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Medical Entomology
• Infectious Diseases
• Transfusion Medicine

Background:

• The emergence of transfusion-transmitted West Nile virus in 2002 highlighted critical gaps in blood transfusion safety.
• Global health organizations stress the need for blood centers to understand the epidemiology of emerging infectious agents.
• Arboviruses represent a significant and evolving threat to the safety of blood supply worldwide.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and analyze published cases of arbovirus transmission via blood or blood component transfusion.
• To characterize the key clinical and epidemiological features of transfusion-transmitted arbovirus infections.
• To identify arboviruses posing a potential risk to transfusion safety.

Main Methods:

• Conducted systematic literature searches across major databases: MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus.
• Selected relevant scientific publications reporting transfusion-transmitted arbovirus cases.
• Extracted and analyzed clinical and epidemiological data, with protocol registration in PROSPERO.

Main Results:

• Identified 74 transfusion-transmitted arbovirus cases involving 10 distinct viruses, with West Nile virus (42 cases) and dengue virus (18 cases) being most frequent.
• Red blood cells were the most commonly implicated blood component (47.3%).
• Immunosuppressed recipients accounted for 54.1% of cases, and 18.9% of transmissions resulted in recipient death.

Conclusions:

• The incidence of transfusion-transmitted arboviruses has significantly increased over the past two decades, involving novel viruses.
• A substantial number of arboviruses present a potential threat to transfusion safety.
• Global expansion of arboviruses necessitates proactive preparation by health agencies to mitigate transfusion risks.