Transfusion Transmissible Infections

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on Healthcare Providers (HCPs) caring for people living with HIV in Jordan. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to understand HCPs' knowledge, attitude, stigma, and practices, to assess the gaps in HIV care in Jordan. METHODS: We conducted recorded in-depth interviews with all five HCPs working at the only HIV Service Center in Jordan, using semi-structured questions in 2021. Content analysis was performed. RESULTS: Several organizational challenges were identified...

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are one of the major public health problems in India with adolescents being a vulnerable section of the affected population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in twenty adolescents contracts an STI every year, excluding the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other viral infections. It is important to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices related to STIs among adolescents and young adults of non-medical backgrounds to educate them properly about protective and preventive measures and to allay misconceptions, if any...

BACKGROUND: Transfusion-transmitted malaria (TTM) is a public health problem in endemic and nonendemic areas. The Brazilian Ministry of Health (MH) requested the development of a nucleic acid amplification test (NAT) for the detection of Plasmodium spp. in public blood centers to increase blood safety. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The new Brazilian NAT kit named NAT PLUS HIV/HBV/HCV/Malaria Bio-Manguinhos was first implemented in HEMORIO, a public blood center in the city of Rio de Janeiro...

The progressive reappearance of Zika virus (ZIKV) infections since October 2013 and its circulation in >70 countries and territories (from French Polynesia to Brazil and other countries in the Americas, with sporadic spread in Europe and the East) has long been reported as a global public health emergency. ZIKV is a virus transmitted by arthropods (arboviruses), mainly by Aedes mosquitoes. ZIKV can also be transmitted to humans through mechanisms other than vector infection such as sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, and mother-to-child transmission...

Babesiosis is perceived mainly an animal disease; however, awareness that Babesia spp. parasites that can cause diseases in humans is increasing significantly. Babesiosis is spread by the bite of an infected tick ( Ixodes spp.), but it can also be transmitted by transfusion of infected blood and from an infected mother to her child during pregnancy or childbirth. The parasites multiply in the bloodstream and destroy red blood cells. This study aimed to assess the influence of Babesia microti on the histological structure of the placenta...

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Transfusion therapy is an indispensable form of treatment, and an important element of the public health system. Due to its origin, blood's clinical use is associated with various risks that may cause adverse reactions and events. Progress in quality and safety of blood components has eliminated numerous risks, especially those of infectious origin. However, some risks cannot be predicted, while others cannot always be prevented. Globalisation and climate change constantly favour the spread of infectious agents...

BACKGROUND: The Taiwanese government made a concerted effort to contain a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) nosocomial outbreak of variant B.1.429, shortly before universal vaccination program implementation. This study aimed to investigate seroprevalence in the highest-risk regions. METHODS: Between January and February 2021, we retrieved 10 000 repository serum samples from blood donors to examine for antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) antigens...

INTRODUCTION: Individual donation nucleic acid testing (ID-NAT) is considered as highly sensitive technology for viral transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) in blood donors. The present study was aimed to analyze the results of ID-NAT with special reference to different types of donors, their age, gender, blood group ranges in a tertiary care center in north India. METHODOLOGY: The present study was done from 24th June 2019 to 31st December 2021 in Blood Center, Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, SMS Hospital, Jaipur...

BACKGROUND: HIV, HBV, and HCV infections for ~60% of the US blood supply are monitored by TTIMS with syphilis added in 2020. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were compiled from October 2020 to September 2022. Syphilis prevalence was estimated for allogeneic and directed donors who were consensus positive (CP) and the subset of those with confirmed-active infections (AI). Prevalence and incidence were stratified by demographics for two consecutive 1-year periods, starting October 1, 2020 and for both years combined...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Notifying blood donors of their reactive status for transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) plays a vital role in enabling early diagnosis and management while also preventing these donors from making future donation and transmission of the infectious agent. Given the limited data on donor notification processes in India, a narrative review was conducted to assess the existing notification process and identify areas requiring enhancement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted literature searches using PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus, employing various keywords...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pathogen reduction (PR) technology may reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs), notably transfusion-transmitted bacterial infection (TTBI) associated with platelet concentrates (PCs). PR (amotosalen/UVA treatment) was implemented for all PCs transfused in France in November 2017. No bacterial detection was in place beforehand. The study aimed to assess the impact of PR PC on TTI and TTBI near-miss occurrences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TTI and TTBI near-miss occurrences were compared before and after 100% PR implementation...

Chagas disease is currently present in many non-endemic countries and remains a neglected tropical disease globally. A review of the literature identified significant gaps and scarcity of updated information from European countries, with most studies reporting data from Spain and Italy. The index of underdiagnosis may be as high as 70%, affecting mainly females of child-bearing age. Standardized screening of fertile, non-pregnant, women from endemic countries and subsequent treatment is considered an essential strategy to control transmission and prevent new cases, yet no uniform legislation for screening risk groups exists...

BACKGROUND: A high seroprevalence of various transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) in donated blood is the main safety concern, especially in low- and middle-income countries. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation, all blood donations must be tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Treponema pallidum infection, and malaria, which mainly comprises the major bulk of TTIs. AIMS: The purpose of this study is to observe the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus and Treponema pallidum infection over the period of 5 years in blood donors of our blood center along with their epidemiological determinants with respect to age, sex, residence, occupation, and type of donors...

Deferring donors at higher risk for transfusion transmissible infections is an important part of ensuring blood safety. The deferral for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) was implemented in the 1980s in many countries, since they were identified as a high-risk group for AIDS/HIV. With the introduction of increasingly sensitive HIV antibody testing, augmented by nucleic acid testing, the window period for HIV infection-when a donor may be infectious but have negative test results-has shrunk dramatically...

BACKGROUND: In many countries, sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) continue to be screened based on their sex or gender and the sex or gender of their sexual partner. However, there is growing support that screening based on specific sexual behaviors that pose risk of transfusion transmissible infection is a better approach to donor screening. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This paper reports results from Phase 1 (qualitative) of a mixed-methods study on Canadian blood and plasma donors' views on expanding eligibility for gbMSM by changing to sexual behavior-based screening...

BACKGROUND: The transmission of diseases by blood products continues to be a worldwide health problem, especially in Africa. Seroprevalence rates of the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Syphilis, and Coinfection in Angola are poorly documented. This study aims to identify the seroprevalence of markers with positive results for Hepatitis B, C, HIV, Syphilis, and Coinfection in blood donors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using a database of positive serological markers for these infections and coinfection in 2734 blood donors traced from 2011 to 2016 in Luanda, Angola...

Dengue is a very serious public health problem that can manifest a wide range of symptoms from asymptomatic to fatal conditions, such as dengue shock syndrome (DSS). It is a life-threatening mosquito-borne viral infection widely spread in tropical areas. Dengue virus transmission occurs from an infected Aedes mosquito to humans. Various factors are responsible for the occurrence of the disease, such as viral load, age of the host, immune status of the host, and genetic variability. Dengue infection occurs in three phases: febrile, critical, and recovery...

Leuconostoc lactis ( LLac ) is a Gram-positive coccus of the family Leuconostocaceae . It can be found in a variety of vegetables and dairy products. LLac is an opportunistic pathogen with intrinsic resistance to vancomycin and teicoplanin. In this case report, we discuss a rare case of LLac -associated bacteraemia in a patient with osteopetrosis. A 4-year-old girl was admitted to the paediatric emergency department with acute fever without other signs. Blood culture revealed an infection with LLac . Using the streptococcus antibiogram, the isolate was resistant to vancomycin, teicoplanin, rifampicin and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim but sensitive to β-lactams, gentamicin, streptomycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, lincomycin, clindamycin and erythromycin...

Ixodes species ticks but can also be acquired less frequently by alimentary transmission. Other rare modes of transmission include through breastfeeding, blood transfusion, solid organ transplantation, and slaughtering of viremic animals. TBE virus can cause acute neurologic disease, which usually results in hospitalization, often permanent neurologic or cognitive sequelae, and sometimes death. TBE virus infection is a risk for certain travelers and for laboratory workers who work with the virus. In August 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved Ticovac TBE vaccine for use among persons aged ≥1 year...