Prevalence of cytomegalovirus infections in blood donors and the newborn versus utility of leukocyte-reduced blood transfusion in the premature newborn: An observation from Eastern India

Purpose and Objectives: Leukocyte-reduced blood components prevent the transmission of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection; however, provision of universal leukoreduced blood involves a huge resource constraint to developing countries. The present study aimed to identify the seroprevalence of CMV among voluntary blood donors and newborns who were transfused with nonleukoreduced blood in the recent past (control). With the availability of leukoreduced blood, the pre- and posttransfusion CMV serology was analyzed in the newborn (cohort) who had received entirely leukoreduced blood to understand its utility. Methods: Eight hundred and fifty-two healthy blood donors and 40 newborns (control) who received nonleukoreduced blood in the recent past were observed for the seroprevalence of CMV. In the other arm, 45 newborns (premature) were transfused with leukoreduced blood and observed for CMV seroprevalence during both pre- and posttransfusion periods. To identify the evidence of recent infection in these population, CMV immunoglobulin G (IgG) avidity was performed in a proportion of the participants in all the groups. Quality control of the leukoreduced blood components was also checked as per standards. Results: The overall seroprevalence of CMV in blood donors, posttransfused newborns (control), and the cohort group was high. In the blood donors, a limited number of CMV IgG avidity tests showed a high infectivity rate (85.19%). A similar result was also observed in the newborn population in both the groups for recent CMV infections. Conclusion: The present study showed a high prevalence of CMV infections in blood donors and newborns. The leukoreduced blood transfusion might be effective for preventing other serious adverse outcomes except CMV.