Association between Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Increased Neopterin Concentrations in Blood Donations

In Austria, additional nonspecific screening of blood donations for immune system activation has been mandatory since 1993 for early detection of especially acute virus infections. For this purpose, measurement of neopterin concentrations is performed nationwide, allowing detection of cell-mediated immune reactions with great sensitivity (1). Earlier studies demonstrated in blood donors who already had passed the physical examination before donation and who already had donated blood that subclinical acute infections with certain viruses were more likely to be detectable serologically in donations with increased neopterin concentrations compared with donations with lower neopterin concentrations: Acute cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections examined by CMV-IgM antibody testing were found to be 17-fold more likely in donors with increased neopterin (2). In cases of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and parvovirus B19, the discrepancy between donor groups with low and high neopterin …