(CIDRAP News) More than 800 donated blood units went unused because of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in 2003, but enough infected blood escaped detection to cause six WNV cases in blood recipients, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The six cases in 2003 compare with 23 reported in 2002. The 2002 cases led to the rapid development of nucleic-acid amplification tests (NATs) for WNV in blood.