Abstract

Asymptomatic blood donors can transmit human parvovirus B19 (B19V). We assessed the B19V prevalence amongst a large cohort of blood donations collected in Germany during 2015-2018. In total, 167,123 donations were screened for B19V DNA with 22 cases of viraemia identified (0.013% positive). Infections peaked at a four-year interval and the highest number of cases occurred in the summer months. All 22 infections were found in rhesus D-antigen positive donations, suggesting a protective factor in donors who lack this antigen. These findings contribute to our understanding of risk factors for B19V infection among central European blood and plasma donors.

https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiac456/6835107