Dataset Information

Risk of transmittable blood-borne pathogens in blood units from blood donor dogs in Canada.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Canine blood donors can be infected by various vector-borne or other pathogens that could be an important cause of morbidity and death in transfusion recipients.

Hypothesis/objectives

To estimate and predict positivity to transmittable blood-borne pathogens in blood units collected from blood donor dogs in Canada.

Animals

Six thousand one hundred and fifty blood units from 1914 active blood donors registered to the Canadian Animal Blood Bank (CABB) between March 2010 and December 2016.

Methods

A registry-based retrospective study. Blood units were screened by SNAP 4Dx/4Dx Plus and PCR panel tests. Information on blood donors and test results were extracted from multiple databases and collated. Logistic regressions were used to predict blood unit positivity.

Results

Of 1779 blood units, 0.56% were antibody-positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum/platys and 0% for Ehrlichia canis/ewingii. After exclusion of antibody-positive units to Anaplasma spp., 1.1% of 6140 blood units were PCR-positive to Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella spp., Brucella canis, "Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum," Mycoplasma haemocanis, or a combination of these pathogens. Babesia spp., Ehrlichia spp., and Leishmania spp. were not detected. Units from the first blood collection from a dog had higher odds of testing PCR-positive (P < .001) for at least 1 pathogen than units from subsequent collections.

Conclusions and clinical importance

Although our study indicates a low probability of detecting blood-borne pathogen in blood units collected by this Canadian blood bank, the presence of positive units highlights the importance of the preemptive identification and screening of blood units from healthy blood donors for safe blood banking, especially in first-time donors.

SUBMITTER: Nury C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8162595 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundVector-borne infections pose significant health risks to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) in the United States may be infected with and serve as sentinel hosts for several zoonotic vector-borne pathogens. In this study, we analyzed the geographical distribution, risk factors, and co-infections associated with infection with Ehrlichia spp., Anaplasma spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, and Dirofilaria immitis in shelter dogs in the Eastern United States.MethodsFrom 2016 to 2020, blood samples from 3750 shelter dogs from 19 states were examined with IDEXX SNAP® 4Dx® Plus tests to determine the seroprevalence of infection with tick-borne pathogens and infection with D. immitis. We assessed the impact of factors including age, sex, intact status, breed group, and location on infection using logistic regression.ResultsThe overall seroprevalence of D. immitis was 11.2% (n = 419/3750), the seroprevalence of Anaplasma spp. was 2.4% (n = 90/3750), the seroprevalence of Ehrlichia spp. was 8.0% (n = 299/3750), and the seroprevalence of B. burgdorferi was 8.9% (n = 332/3750). Regional variation in seroprevalence was noted: D. immitis (17.4%, n = 355/2036) and Ehrlichia spp. (10.7%, n = 217/2036) were highest in the Southeast while seroprevalence for B. burgdorferi (19.3%, n = 143/740) and Anaplasma spp. (5.7%, n = 42/740) were highest in the Northeast. Overall, 4.8% (n = 179/3750) of dogs had co-infections, the most common of which were D. immitis/Ehrlichia spp. (1.6%, n = 59/3750), B. burgdorferi/Anaplasma spp. (1.5%, n = 55/3750), and B. burgdorferi/Ehrlichia spp. (1.2%, n = 46/3750). Risk factors significantly influenced infection across the evaluated pathogens were location and breed group. All evaluated risk factors were significant for the seroprevalence of D. immitis antigens.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate a regionally variable risk of infection with vector-borne pathogens in shelter dogs throughout the Eastern United States, likely due to varying distributions of vectors. However, as many vectors are undergoing range expansions or other changes in distribution associated with climate and landscape change, continued vector-borne pathogen surveillance is important for maintaining reliable risk assessment.