Malaria parasitemia among blood donors in Uganda
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Transfusion
Abstract
Malaria remains a leading transfusion
associated infectious risk in endemic areas. However,
the prevalence of malaria parasitemia has not been well
characterized in blood donor populations. This study
sought to determine the prevalence of Plasmodium in
red blood cell (RBC) and whole blood (WB) units after
the rainy season in Uganda.
METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between May and July
2018, blood was collected from the sample diversion
pouch of 1000 WB donors in Kampala and Jinja,
Uganda. The RBC pellet from ethylenediamine
tetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulated blood was stored
at −80°C until testing. DNA was extracted and nested
PCR was used to screen samples at the genus level for
Plasmodium, with positive samples further tested for
species identification.
RESULTS: Malaria parasitemia among asymptomatic,
eligible blood donors in two regions of Uganda was
15.4%; 87.7% (135/154) of infections were with
P. falciparum, while P. malariae and P. ovale were
also detected. There were 4.3% of blood donors who
had mixed infection with multiple species. Older
donors (>30 years vs. 17-19 years; aPR = 0.31
[95% CI = 0.17-0.58]), females (aPR = 0.60
[95% CI = 0.42-0.87]), repeat donors (aPR = 0.44
[95% CI = 0.27-0.72]) and those donating near the
capital city of Kampala versus rural Jinja region
(aPR = 0.49 [95% CI = 0.34-0.69]) had a lower
prevalence of malaria parasitemia.
CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of asymptomatic
blood donors residing in a malaria endemic region
demonstrate evidence of parasitemia at time of donation.
Further research is needed to quantify the risk and
associated burden of transfusion-transmitted malaria
(TTM) in order to inform strategies to prevent TTM.
Description
Keywords
Malaria parasitemia, Blood donors, Uganda
Citation
Murphy, K. J., Conroy, A. L., Ddungu, H., Shrestha, R., Kyeyune‐Byabazaire, D., Petersen, M. R., ... & Tobian, A. A. (2020). Malaria parasitemia among blood donors in Uganda. Transfusion, 60(5), 955-964. doi:10.1111/trf.15775