Inactivation of a European strain of West Nile virus in single- donor platelet concentrate using the INTERCEPT blood system

Background and Objective  In order to prevent West Nile virus (WNV) contaminations by transfusion, the French National Blood Service decided to evaluate the INTERCEPT Blood System's efficiency on a European strain. Materials and Methods  Culture supernatant of WNV was used to infect six platelets concentrates. Viral titre was determined by plaque reduction neutralization test before and after viral inactivation using the INTERCEPT Blood System. Results  In all assays, the absence of plaque forming unit was observed after viral inactivation. The log reduction observed ranged between > 5·1 logs to > 5·2 logs. Conclusion  INTERCEPT Blood System is a commercially viral inactivation method potentially useful in order to prevent WNV transmission by blood products in France during re-emerging outbreaks.