Transfusion-transmitted infections remain a permanent threat in medicine. It keeps the burden of the past, marked by serious infections transmitted by transfusion, and is constantly threatened by emerging viruses. The global rise of immunosuppression among patients undergoing frequent transfusions exacerbates this problem. Over the past decade, criteria for donor selection have become increasingly more stringent. Although routine nucleic acid testing (NAT) for virus-specific detection has become more sensitive, these safety measures are only valuable for a limited number of select viruses. The scientific approach to this is however changing, with the goal of trying to identify infectious agents in donor units as early as possible to mitigate the risk of a clinically relevant infection. To this end, and in addition to an epidemiological surveillance of the general population, researchers are adopting new methods to discover emerging infectious agents, while simultaneously screening for an extended number of viruses in donors. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) offers the opportunity to explore the entire viral landscape in blood donors, the so-called metagenomics, to investigate severe transfusion reactions of unknown etiology. In the not too distant future, one could imagine this platform being used for routine testing of donated blood products.

中文翻译：

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使用下一代测序的献血者和血液衍生产品的病毒宏基因组学

输血传播感染仍然是医学领域的永久威胁。它保留了过去的负担，以输血传播的严重感染为标志，并不断受到新出现的病毒的威胁。接受频繁输血的患者中免疫抑制的全球兴起加剧了这个问题。在过去十年中，捐助者的选择标准变得越来越严格。尽管用于病毒特异性检测的常规核酸检测 (NAT) 变得更加敏感，但这些安全措施仅对有限数量的选定病毒有价值。然而，对此的科学方法正在发生变化，其目标是尽早识别供体单位中的传染源，以降低临床相关感染的风险。为此，除了对一般人群进行流行病学监测外，研究人员还采用新方法来发现新出现的传染源，同时筛查供体中的大量病毒。下一代测序 (NGS) 提供了探索献血者整个病毒格局的机会，即所谓的宏基因组学，以研究病因不明的严重输血反应。在不久的将来，人们可以想象这个平台将被用于捐赠血液制品的常规检测。所谓的宏基因组学，用于调查病因不明的严重输血反应。在不久的将来，人们可以想象这个平台将被用于捐赠血液制品的常规检测。所谓的宏基因组学，用于调查病因不明的严重输血反应。在不久的将来，人们可以想象这个平台将被用于捐赠血液制品的常规检测。