ABSTRACT
Human immunoglobulin G preparations suitable for intravenous administration (IVIG) are widely used for the prophylaxis of infection in patients with primary and secondary immunodeficiency and for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases thought to be immunologically mediated (see elsewhere in this volume). Until the 1980s, IVIG preparations were thought not to transmit viral infections, unlike plasma-derived coagulation factor concentrates, which were known to transmit a variety of viral infections, prior to the introduction of viral inactivation steps, such as heat or solvent-detergent treatment (Table 1). However, in the past two decades there have been reports of the transmission of hepatitis by a variety of IVIG preparations (1-22) leading to serious concern about the safety of IVIG preparations with respect to the transmission of virus infections.
