Total Eclipse of the...Virus

Terminology can get a bit confusing when discussing different stages or "periods" of viral infections in relationship to transfusion-transmitted infections. I've tried to simplify some things in this post, to help you understand the differences between "windows" and "eclipses!

Feeling Positive?

Is a donor "reactive" for a particular infectious disease marker or is he "positive"? What does "repeat reactive" mean? Can you have a reactive test on a particular sample and still be categorized as "non-reactive"? When studying transfusion-transmitted diseases (podcast on this topic coming soon), you will read terminology that can sometimes be confusing to non-virologists of the world (I proudly include myself in that category!). This blog entry will discuss several confusing terms related to viral marker testing results.

XMRV-An Emerging Infection Case Study

In the early 1980’s, physicians in San Francisco and New York were puzzled by a growing number of aggressive cases of a rare malignancy known as Kaposi’s sarcoma, as well as a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii (now "jirovecii") pneumonia. These illnesses were discovered initially in homosexual men, but were later seen in a growing number of patients suffering from hemophilia.

Volunteer?

When is a "volunteer" really a volunteer? For blood donor centers, this is a hugely important question to ask, since keeping an all-volunteer blood supply has been considered a mainstay of transfusion medicine for at least the last 25 years. I attended an interesting lecture today given by an incredibly knowledgable person (Gina Ramirez, manager of regulatory affairs) at the blood center where I work, and thought I would share some information from her lecture and my thoughts with you here.