Transfusion-Transmitted Malaria and Mitigation Strategies in Nonendemic Regions

Background: Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genusPlasmodium. These parasites can be transmitted by blood transfusion especially through Red Cell Blood Concentrates collected from asymptomatic and parasitemic donors. As migration of populations from endemic areas to Europe and overseas recreational travel to endemic regions increase, there is growing risk of transfusion-transmitted malaria (TTM) in nonendemic regions of the world. The present work provides an overview of the mitigation strategies in nonendemic countries and their effectiveness and discusses possible approaches to evolve the strategies in order to maintain both a safe and adequate blood supply.Summary: The historical and current situation of malaria and TTM in Europe and on the North American continent are described. The infectivity ofPlasmodium in blood components and the consequences of TTM are presented, along with the regulations and guidelines for TTM mitigation in Europe, USA, and Canada. The regulations/guidelines currently in place in Europe allow a certain amount of leeway for local policies. A questionnaire was used to survey European countries regarding their current strategies and recent TTM cases. From the questionnaire and published cases, approximately 20 cases of TTM were identified in the past 20 years in the USA and Europe. The vast majority of implicated donors have been former residents of malaria-endemic areas, particularly former resident...
Source: Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy - Category: Hematology Source Type: research