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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Jul;20(4):267-280.
doi: 10.2450/2021.0106-21. Epub 2021 Sep 22.

Prevalence of Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika viruses in blood donors: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Ángel Giménez-Richarte  1 , Mabel Ortiz de Salazar  1 , Cristina Arbona  1 , María P Giménez-Richarte  2 , Miriam Collado  1 , Pedro L Fernández  1 , Francisco Quiles  1 , Carlos Clavijo  1 , Pascual Marco  3   4 , Jose-Manuel Ramos-Rincon  4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika viruses in blood donors: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Ángel Giménez-Richarte et al. Blood Transfus. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Blood transfusion centres should understand the epidemiology of emerging diseases that are transmissible through the transfusion of blood components. The risk of transmission of arboviruses through this route has become apparent in recent years. The aim of our study is to summarise the reported prevalence (viraemic rate, seroprevalence and/or antigen detection) of Chikungunya (CHIKV), Dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses in blood donors according to screening test used and world region.

Materials and methods: We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis having searched for information in the main bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus). The prevalence for each of the viruses was calculated according to the screening test used and geographic location.

Results: We included 18 records on CHIKV, 71 on DENV, and 27 on ZIKV. The highest prevalences of RNA for CHIKV were 1.9% in Puerto Rico (2014), 1.0% in Thailand (2009), and 1.0% in French Polynesia (2014-15). The highest prevalences of RNA for DENV were 5.5% in Saudi Arabia (2015-16), 2.3% in Madeira, Portugal (2012-13), and 0.6% in Brazil (2012). The highest prevalences of RNA for ZIKV were 2.8% in French Polynesia (2013-14), 2.7% in Brazil (2015-16), and 1.8% in Martinique (2016). Overall seroprevalence, as assessed by IgG antibodies, was 21.6% for CHIKV, 24.0% for DENV, and 5.1% for ZIKV.

Discussion: Our study shows a high proportion of donors who are viraemic and asymptomatic, especially during outbreaks, with prevalences surpassing 5% for DENV, 1% for CHIKV, and 2% for ZIKV. These data confirm a clear threat to blood transfusion safety. The elevated seroprevalence for these three arboviruses is also indicative of their wide circulation in populations, correlating with an increased risk of infected but asymptomatic donors. Health centres and institutions must address this threat, especially in tropical regions where the biggest outbreaks occur.

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Conflict of interest statement

The Authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart on selection of studies included for each virus covered by the literature review
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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