No molecular or serological evidence of Zikavirus infection among healthy blood donors living in or travelling to regions where Aedes albopictus circulates

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that Zika virus can infect and be transmitted by A. albopictus. The World Health organization (WHO) has raised concerns of autochthonous transmission of the virus in regions where the vector is endemic. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the occurrence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in western Austria (Tyrol) especially after a history of travel to A. albopictus endemic regions.MethodsThe study participants were healthy blood donors at randomly selected donation sites in the west Austrian region Tyrol. Rest blood (plasma) samples were tested for the presence of ZIKV nucleic acid and antibodies against the virus.ResultsMean age of the study participants was 44.6 (SD = 12.9) and 58.8% were men. Eighty percent reported to have received vaccine against TBEV, whereas only 4.9 and 0.9% had received YFV and JEV vaccines. Three out of 1001 (0.03%) participants tested positive solely for ZIKV IgM antibody but not for other flaviviruses. Only one individual had ZIKV IgG antibody. All four donors were negative in the neutralization (confirmation) assay. No viral RNA was detected in any of the samples.ConclusionThe null finding of our study refutes WHO’s initial fear of global expansion of ZIKV infection including its occurrence in Europe. There appears to be no urgent need to introduce universal screening of donated blood for ZIKV in central Europe at least until the next warm season. Further, Euroimmun anti-Zika ELISA proved to be a highly suitable and reliable test system in populations with high prevalence of TBEV infection and/or immunization.研究背景 既往研究表明，寨卡病毒（Zika virus, ZIKV）可感染白纹伊蚊（Aedes albopictus，缩写A. albopictus）并经其传播。世界卫生组织（World Health Organization, WHO）对该传播媒介流行地区出现寨卡病毒的本土传播表示担忧。本先导研究旨在评估奥地利西部蒂罗尔州（Tyrol）地区寨卡病毒的流行情况，尤其针对有前往白纹伊蚊流行地区旅行史的人群。 研究方法 研究对象为奥地利西部蒂罗尔州随机选取的献血点的健康献血者。采集剩余血液（血浆）样本，检测寨卡病毒核酸以及针对该病毒的特异性抗体。 研究结果 研究对象的平均年龄为44.6岁（标准差SD=12.9），其中男性占比58.8%。80%的研究对象报告曾接种森林脑炎病毒（Tick-borne encephalitis virus, TBEV）疫苗，仅4.9%和0.9%的对象分别接种过黄热病毒（Yellow fever virus, YFV）疫苗与乙型脑炎病毒（Japanese encephalitis virus, JEV）疫苗。1001名研究对象中，有3名（0.03%）仅寨卡病毒IgM抗体检测呈阳性，而其他黄病毒属抗体检测均为阴性；仅1名研究对象的寨卡病毒IgG抗体检测呈阳性。上述4名阳性献血者的中和（确认）试验结果均为阴性。所有样本均未检测到寨卡病毒核糖核酸（RNA）。 研究结论 本研究的阴性结果驳斥了世界卫生组织最初对寨卡病毒感染全球扩散（包括在欧洲出现本地流行）的担忧。至少在下一个暖季到来前，中欧地区似乎暂无必要全面开展献血者寨卡病毒筛查。此外，在森林脑炎病毒感染率和/或接种率较高的人群中，欧蒙（Euroimmun）抗寨卡病毒酶联免疫吸附试验（Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, ELISA）被证明是一种极为适配且可靠的检测系统。