Transfusion transmissible malaria: seroprevalence of malaria parasitemia in blood donors in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India

Malaria was the first ever reported case of transfusion transmitted infection (TTI). Transfusion transmissible malaria (TTM) can result in febrile transfusion reaction in the recipient. TTM can be fatal if the blood transfusion recipient is from vulnerable population i.e. pregnant women or young children. Therefore, the present study was done to estimate the seroprevalence of malaria parasitemia among blood donors in Garhwal region.

Study subjects were healthy blood donors who had passed the screening criteria for blood donation. Donors with a history of malaria were temporarily deferred for 3 months following full recovery. Screening of the donated blood units for malaria parasite was done using immunochromatography based rapid diagnostic test. Thin smear examination was performed for malaria parasite species identification.

A total of 1984 blood donations were screened for TTI. The seroprevalence of HBV, HCV HIV and syphilis was 0.3% (n=6), 0.25% (n=5), 0% (n=0) and 0% (n=0) respectively. The seroprevalence of malaria parasite was 0.05% (n=1). Plasmodium vivax was identified upon thin smear examination. The donor reactive for malaria parasite was a replacement donor and gave no recent history of fever or any past history of malaria.

Meticulous donor screening combined with rapid diagnostic tests for malaria parasite is the most practical strategy to prevent TTM in Garhwal region of India.