A mysterious emerging virus has been found in blood samples from donors from three Brazilian regions. The discovery was made by researchers from USP (University of São Paulo) and published in the journal The Science of Blood Transfusion and Apheresis.

Samples identified with the virus tested positive for HIV and hepatitis B – Photo: Pixabay/Reproduçaõ/ND

There is still no evidence that this is a transfusion threat. Virus hemicibivirus-2-human (HuGkV-2) has been detected in donor samples from the Federal District, Amapa and Rio Grande do Sul.

The virus had previously been identified in blood donors positive for HIV and hepatitis B. This discovery hypothesized that the viral agent was spread among healthy donors.

A total of 450 blood plasma samples from donors obtained in three regions were examined.

*According to information from ricmais portal.