Hepatitis E virus is effectively inactivated in platelet concentrates by ultraviolet C light
Dimas Praditya, Martina Friesland, Ute Gravemann, Wiebke Handke, Daniel Tödt, Patrick Behrendt, Thomas Müller, Eike Steinmann, Axel Seltsam
Abstract
Background and Objectives As previous investigations have shown, THERAFLEX UV‐Platelets, a UVC‐based pathogen inactivation (PI) system, is effective against non‐enveloped transfusion‐relevant viruses such as hepatitis A virus (HAV), which are insensitive to most PI treatments for blood products. This study investigated the PI efficacy of THERAFLEX UV‐Platelets against HEV in platelet concentrates (PCs). Materials and Methods Buffy coat‐derived PCs in additive solution were spiked with cell culture‐derived HEV and treated with the THERAFLEX UV‐Platelets system using various doses of UVC (0·05, 0·10, 0·15 and 0·20 (standard) J/cm 2 ). Titres of infectious virus in pre‐ and post‐treatment samples were determined using a large‐volume plating assay to improve the detection limit of the virus assay. Results THERAFLEX UV‐Platelets dose‐dependently inactivated HEV in PCs. The standard UVC dose inactivated the virus to below the limit of detection, corresponding to a mean log reduction of greater than 3·5. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that the THERAFLEX UV‐Platelets system effectively inactivates HEV in PCs.