Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul;26(7):1631-1633.
doi: 10.3201/eid2607.200839. Epub 2020 Jun 21.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 RNA Detected in Blood Donations

Le Chang, Lei Zhao, Huafei Gong, Lunan Wang, Lan Wang

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 RNA Detected in Blood Donations

Le Chang et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Because of high rates of 2019 novel coronavirus disease in Wuhan, China, Wuhan Blood Center began screening for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA on January 25, 2020. We screened donations in real-time and retrospectively and found plasma samples positive for viral RNA from 4 asymptomatic donors.

Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus disease; COVID-19; China; SARS; SARS-CoV-2; blood donors; coronavirus; respiratory infections; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; zoonoses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure
Timeline of donations and symptom onset of 2019 novel coronavirus disease from 4 blood donors, China. Gray indicates a negative result for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA; yellow indicates a positive result. Green indicates the donor was asymptomatic or their temperature returned to normal; orange indicates fever; red triangle indicates the donor’s fever subsided after taking self-prescribed antipyretic medications. PLT, platelet; TS, throat swab; WB, whole blood.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Emergency Response Epidemiology Team. Vital surveillances: the epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19)—China, 2020. China CDC weekly 2020;2:113–122 [cited 2020 Mar 18]. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/kishimoto/clinic/cash/COVID-19.pdf - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet. 2020;395:497–506. 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang W, Du RH, Li B, Zheng XS, Yang XL, Hu B, et al. Molecular and serological investigation of 2019-nCoV infected patients: implication of multiple shedding routes. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2020;9:386–9. 10.1080/22221751.2020.1729071 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chang L, Yan Y, Wang L. Coronavirus disease 2019: coronaviruses and blood safety. Transfus Med Rev. 2020;S0887-7963(20)30014-6; Epub ahead of print. 10.1016/j.tmrv.2020.02.003 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chinese Society of Blood Transfusion. Recommendations on blood collection and supply during the epidemic of novel coronavirus pneumonia in China, 1st edition [in Chinese]. 2020. Feb 5 [cited 2020 Mar 18] https://www.csbt.org.cn/plus/view.php?aid=16530