Dataset Information

Malaria parasitemia among blood donors in Uganda.

ABSTRACT:

Background

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.

SUBMITTER: Murphy KJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7908807 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundUnderstanding the current epidemiology of malaria and the relationship between intervention coverage, transmission intensity, and burden of disease is important to guide control activities. We aimed to determine the prevalence of anemia, parasitemia, and serological responses to P. falciparum antigens, and factors associated with these indicators, in three different epidemiological settings in Uganda.Methods and findingsIn 2012, cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 200 randomly selected households from each of three sites: Walukuba, Jinja district (peri-urban); Kihihi, Kanungu district (rural); and Nagongera, Tororo district (rural) with corresponding estimates of annual entomologic inoculation rates (aEIR) of 3.8, 26.6, and 125.0, respectively. Of 2737 participants, laboratory testing was done in 2227 (81.4%), including measurement of hemoglobin, parasitemia using microscopy, and serological responses to P. falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1) and merozoite surface protein 1, 19 kilodalton fragment (MSP-119). Analysis of laboratory results was restricted to 1949 (87.5%) participants aged ? 40 years. Prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL) was significantly higher in Walukuba (18.9%) and Nagongera (17.4%) than in Kihihi (13.1%), and was strongly associated with decreasing age for those ? 5 years at all sites. Parasite prevalence was significantly higher in Nagongera (48.3%) than in Walukuba (12.2%) and Kihihi (12.8%), and significantly increased with age to 11 years, and then significantly decreased at all sites. Seropositivity to AMA-1 was 53.3% in Walukuba, 63.0% in Kihihi, and 83.7% in Nagongera and was associated with increasing age at all sites. AMA-1 seroconversion rates strongly correlated with transmission intensity, while serological responses to MSP-119 did not.ConclusionAnemia was predominant in young children and parasitemia peaked by 11 years across 3 sites with varied transmission intensity. Serological responses to AMA-1 appeared to best reflect transmission intensity, and may be a more accurate indicator for malaria surveillance than anemia or parasitemia.