CONFERENCE REPORT: Transfusion-transmitted babesiosis in the United States: summary of a workshop (original) (raw)
Related papers
Transfusion-transmitted babesiosis
Current Opinion in Hematology, 2016
Purpose of review-To summarize the current status of blood screening to prevent transfusiontransmitted babesiosis. Recent findings-Babesia microti has recently been determined to be the most common transfusion-transmitted pathogen in the United States. Patients who acquire transfusion transmitted babesiosis (TTB) often experience severe illness with an associated mortality rate of about 20%. Recent studies have demonstrated that laboratory screening using B. microti antibody and/or PCR assays can effectively identify infectious blood donors and that this approach may offer a cost effective means of intervention. Pathogen inactivation methods may offer an alternative solution. None of these methods has yet been licensed by FDA, however, and current efforts to prevent TTB rely on excluding blood donors who report having had babesiosis. Summary-TTB imposes a significant health burden on the US population. Further research is needed to better inform decisions on optimal screening strategies and reentry criteria, but given the acute need and the currently available screening tools, initiation of blood donor screening to prevent TTB should be given high priority.
Transfusion-transmitted babesiosis: one state's experience
Transfusion, 2018
The risk for tickborne exposure to Babesia microti infection exists statewide in Massachusetts. Broad exposure complicates investigations of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis (TTB). We summarize 8 years of the epidemiology of TTB and highlight the role of public health in prevention and control. Cases of babesiosis are routinely reported to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. These are investigated to determine whether they meet the surveillance case definition and to identify whether they were potentially transfusion transmitted. Frequencies from 2009 to 2016 are described and incidence rates calculated using population denominators from the US census. Changes over time were analyzed using simple linear regression. From 2009 to 2016, there were 2578 cases of babesiosis reported; of these, 45 (1.7%) were transfusion transmitted. Of the 45 cases of TTB, 15 (33%) received blood products from two or more suppliers. In 11 TTB cases, the Department of Public Health was notifi...
Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2009
Background. Human babesiosis is an illness with clinical manifestations that range from asymptomatic to fatal. Although babesiosis is not nationally notifiable, the US incidence appears to be increasing. Babesia infection is a transfusion-transmissable disease. An estimated 70 cases were reported during 1979-2007; most of these cases were reported during the past decade. Methods. We queried the 3 following US Food and Drug Administration safety surveillance systems to assess trends in babesiosis reporting since 1997: fatality reports for blood donors and transfusion recipients, the Adverse Event Reporting System (which includes MedWatch), and the Biological Product Deviations Reporting system. We analyzed fatality reports for time frames, clinical presentations, and patient and donor demographic characteristics. Results. Eight of 9 deaths due to transfusion-transmitted babesiosis that were reported since 1997 occurred within the past 3 years (2005-2007). Four implicated donors and 5 patients lived in areas where Babesia infection is not endemic. Increasing numbers of Biological Product Deviations Reports were submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration over the past decade; the Adverse Event Reporting System received no reports. Conclusions. After nearly a decade with no reported death due to transfusion-transmitted babesiosis, the US Food and Drug Administration received 8 reports from November 2005 onward. The increased numbers of deaths reported and Biological Product Deviations Reports suggest an increasing incidence of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis. Physicians should consider babesiosis in the differential diagnosis in immunocompromised, febrile patients with a history of recent transfusion, even in areas where Babesia infection is not endemic. Accurate and timely reporting of babesiosis-related donor and transfusion events assists the US Food and Drug Administration in developing appropriate public health-control measures. Human babesiosis is a protozoal zoonotic illness that is transmitted primarily by Ixodes scapularis ticks in North America. Of 1100 Babesia species that infect vertebrate hosts, Babesia microti, Babesia divergens-like organisms, Babesia duncani (previously known as WA-1), CA-1, and MO-1 infect humans in the United States [1]. The majority of US babesiosis cases are attributed to B. microti, which is found mostly in the northeastern and upper midwestern states.
Babesia: Prevention for the Blood Supply
Clinical Microbiology Newsletter, 2019
Exposure to blood, whether through blood transfusion, organ transplantation, or even pregnancy (mother to fetus), can transmit infectious disease. Blood suppliers routinely test donated blood for a variety of infectious pathogens and screening for Babesia spp. occurs in endemic areas of the United States. People living in areas of endemicity are not allowed to donate blood if they have a history of babesiosis. Transmission of Babesia microti through red blood cell blood transfusion is a serious, although rare, public health threat for which these preventive measures are necessary. The first case of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis in the United States occurred in 1979, and the incidence has increased. The National Healthcare Safety Network Hemovigilance Module tracks transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI). In a reporting period ending December, 2016, the most frequently reported TTI involving red blood cell units was for Babesia spp. in 16 of 24 reported infections.
Transfusion-transmitted Babesiosis in an Immunocompromised Patient: A Case Report and Review
American Journal of Medicine, 2011
Babesiosis is a tick- and transfusion-borne disease caused by intraerythrocytic Babesia parasites. In 2009, a 61-year-old Minnesota woman with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and a history of recent chemotherapy and numerous blood transfusions for gastrointestinal bleeding became febrile and anemic 12 days postsplenectomy. Babesia were visualized on blood smears, confirmed by polymerase chain reaction as B. microti. She developed respiratory failure
Human babesiosis": an emerging transfusion dilemma
International journal of hepatology, 2012
Babesiosis, a common disease of animals, can infect humans via vector "tick bite", particularly in endemic areas. The recent reports of fatal cases in Hepatitis C and postliver transplant patients resulting from transfusion of contaminated blood should alert the medical profession regarding this emerging dilemma in endemic as well as nonendemic areas and the need for accurate blood screening for transfusion. Here, we illustrate different stages of the parasite lifecycle, progression of babesiosis in animal model, some aspects of pathologic outcomes, ongoing therapeutic modalities, and a feasible Acridine Orange fluorescent methodology for the diagnostic evaluation of blood samples.