A Practical Method for Preparation of Varicella-Zoster Immune Globulin

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Outdated blood from blood banks in Massachusetts was screened for complement-fixing antibody to varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Approximately 15% of the plasma units had a titer of ≥16, and one-half of these had a titer of ≥32. Plasma units with titers of CF antibody to VZV of ≥16 were pooled. This pool had a CF antibody titer of 32 and a titer of fluorescent antibody of 64. Varicella-zoster immune globulin was prepared from the selected plasma pool by alcohol fractionation and analyzed for VZV-specific antibody. Varicella-zoster immune globulin had a fluorescent antibody titer of 2,048 and a neutralizing antibody titer of 1,024. This antibody concentration is equivalent to that in preparations of zoster immune globulin made from plasma of donors recovering from recent VZV infection.