Is seroprevalence of anti-IGM CMV among blood donors relevant in India?

• Main Authors: Kumar Harsh (Author), Gupta P (Author), Kumar Satish (Author), Sarkar R (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2008-07-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

<b>Background:</b> Infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) is more common in developing nations and the people belonging to the lower socioeconomic section of the society. The immunosuppressed population for whom CMV-seronegative blood products are requested is increasing due to advances in medical care. <b> Aim:</b> To study the prevalence of CMV antibodies among the different sexes and age groups in healthy blood donors. <b> Materials and Methods:</b> A retrospective study was done on 5600 serum samples stored frozen in a repository for CMV antibodies using the ELISA technique. <b> Results:</b> Five thousand three hundred and fifty (95.5&#x0025;) were male and 250 (4.5&#x0025;) were female. Four cases (0.071&#x0025;) out of 5600 samples were positive for anti-IgM CMV with 95&#x0025; Confidence Interval (95&#x0025; C.I) of 0.02 - 0.17. <b> Conclusion:</b> In a developing country like India, screening for IgM antibody on a routine basis may not be feasible, given the likely positive yield to be low and the cost being high. It is recommended that in a tertiary care hospital, blood units to be transfused to neonates, organ transplant recipients, those suffering from malignancies and other immunocompromised patients should be screened for anti-IgM CMV or preventive strategies like universal leucodepletion to be implemented to decrease the transmission of CMV in these groups of patients.

Item Description

0377-4929