Hepatitis A Virus Infection in Tamarins: Experimental Transmission via Contaminated Factor VIII Concentrates

Abstract

An experimental hepatitis A virus (HAV) transmission study was performed in 3 tamarins, using a factor VIII concentrate linked to a recent outbreak of HAV infections in German hemophiliacs. The typical indicators for HAV infection were investigated in feces and serum samples. One tamarin showed a classical HAV infection with seroconversion. HAV antigen and HAV RNA were detected in feces of a second animal, but no seroconversion was observed until 19 weeks after inoculation. The HAV sequences from the reverse-transcription- and polymerase chain reaction-positive samples of the 2 animals were identical to the deduced HAV sequences of the chain of infection (from plasma pool to final product to patients). The study results provide conclusive evidence of the presence of infectious HAV in coagulation factor concentrate. Because a number of HAV transmission episodes have been described for solely solvent/detergent-treated factor VIII preparations, continued use of these agents seems questionable.

Virus inactivation during the freeze‐drying processes as used for the manufacture of plasma‐derived medicinal products

“…In the mid-1990s, transmission cases of HAV via lyophilized FVIII products were reported in several European countries. [11][12][13] Consequently, to effectively prevent further transmission cases, the plasma products industry introduced nucleic acid testing to minimize the presence of viruses (among others: HAV and human parvovirus B19) in plasma pools in addition to dedicated virus reduction steps (e.g., heat treatment) during the manufacturing course of FVIII and other plasma derivatives.…”

An outbreak of hepatitis A among homeless drug users in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“…Since alcoholism and infection with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV are high in this group of people and increase morbidity and mortality due to HAV infection [Syed et al, 2003], persons with these risks of adverse outcome received human immunoglobulin in addition to active vaccination [Mannucci et al, 1994;Chudy et al, 2002].…”

A New Approach for Monitoring Ebolavirus in Wild Great Apes

“…In direct response to the challenges associated with collecting blood or tissue from wildlife, non-invasively collected biological samples such as feces have been used for wildlife disease screening [18,19]. Primate feces have been screened for the presence of viral nucleic acids due to shedding of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), circoviruses, enteroviruses and hepatitis viruses [20][21][22][23]. For SIV, feces have also shown the presence of virus-specific antibodies [23].…”