Cytomegalovirus (<scp>CMV</scp>) seroprevalence in <scp>J</scp>apanese blood donors and high detection frequency of <scp>CMV DNA</scp> in elderly donors

<jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>The current prevalence of cytomegalovirus (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV</jats:styled-content>) in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">J</jats:styled-content>apan and the risk of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV</jats:styled-content> transfusion transmission are unknown in the era of seronegative leukoreduced blood components.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Study Design and Methods</jats:title><jats:p>We measured <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV</jats:styled-content>‐specific immunoglobulin (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">Ig</jats:styled-content>)<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">M</jats:styled-content> and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">IgG</jats:styled-content> in 2400 samples of whole blood collected from 12 groups of blood donors categorized by sex and age at 10‐year intervals from their teens to their 60s. We also tested for <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV DNA</jats:styled-content> using polymerase chain reaction in the cellular fractions of all samples.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>We found that 76.6% of blood donors were <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV</jats:styled-content> seropositive. The seroprevalences among donors in their 20s and 30s were 58.3 and 73.3%, respectively. We detected <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV DNA</jats:styled-content> in the cellular fraction of 4.3% of samples from donors in their 60s and in 1.0% of samples from donors younger than 60 years. None of the 562 seronegative samples was <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DNA</jats:styled-content> positive. Furthermore, 14% of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DNA</jats:styled-content>‐positive samples also contained <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">DNA</jats:styled-content> in the plasma fraction, and two of five such samples were derived from donors in their 60s. Leukoreduced plasma components derived from donations with <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV DNA</jats:styled-content> in plasma samples also contained a relevant amount of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV DNA</jats:styled-content>.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>The seroprevalence of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV</jats:styled-content> among Japanese blood donors of child‐bearing age has not changed over the past 15 years. Latent <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV</jats:styled-content> becomes reactivated more frequently among elderly donors than among younger donors. A proportion of them have free <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV DNA</jats:styled-content> in their plasma fraction, which could not be diminished by leukoreduction. The risk of transfusion‐transmitted <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV</jats:styled-content> infection in blood with plasma <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CMV DNA</jats:styled-content> should be determined.</jats:p></jats:sec>