Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Curr Opin Hematol. 2003 Nov;10(6):405-11.
Risk and prevention of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis and other tick-borne diseases. Cable RG, Leiby DA. American Red Cross, Connecticut Blood Services, Farmington, and University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06032, USA. [email protected]
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Tick-borne diseases have increasingly been recognized in the United States as public health problems.
The importance of tick-borne diseases has been accelerated by increases in animal populations, as well as increased human recreation in wooded environments that are conducive to tick bites.
Babesiosis, usually caused by the intraerythrocytic parasite, Babesia microti and transmitted by the same tick as Lyme disease, has important transfusion implications.
Although Lyme disease has not been reported from blood transfusion, newly identified tick-borne diseases such as ehrlichiosis raise additional questions about the role of the tick in transfusion-transmitted diseases.
RECENT FINDINGS: The risk of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis is higher than usually appreciated and in endemic areas represents a major threat to the blood supply.
Furthermore, the geographic range of B. microti is expanding, other Babesia spp. have been implicated in transfusion transmission in the western United States, and the movement of blood donors and donated blood components may result in the appearance of transfusion babesiosis in areas less familiar with these parasites.
Consequently, a higher degree of clinical suspicion will allow early recognition and treatment of this important transfusion complication.
SUMMARY: In endemic areas transfusion-transmitted babesiosis is more prevalent than usually believed. The extension of the geographic range of various Babesia spp. and the movement of donors and blood products around the United States has resulted in the risk extending to non-endemic areas.
Clinicians should maintain a high degree of clinical suspicion for transfusion-transmitted babesiosis.
PMID: 14564169 [PubMed - in process]
------------------ C O L O R A D O * S U P P O R T * S Y S T E M [email protected]
posted
that's a really good compilation of lyme stuff, Melanie..I'm finally printing it out. Thanks! Sarah
Posts: 588 | From Wallingford, CT USA | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
``Viable spirochetes were recovered from RBCs inoculated with 10(6) organisms per mL, after refrigeration for as long as 6 weeks.
It is concluded that B. burgdorferi may survive storage under blood banking conditions and that transfusion-related Lyme disease is theoretically possible.''
Survival of Borrelia burgdorferi in human blood stored under blood banking conditions.
posted
They didn't want my blood even though I seem to have recovered, because I had had babesiosis. DS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Lyme disease "would permanently disqualify an individual as a... blood donor"
posted
And just think about how many undiagnosed people are giving blood as we speak.
I donated blood once about 20 yrs ago. They damaged a nerve in my arm, so I never donated again! Thank goodness, because otherwise I would have given Lyme and babesiosis to more people!
Posts: 4638 | From South Carolina | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Transfus Med Rev. 2004 Oct;18(4):293-306.
Transfusion-transmitted tick-borne infections: a cornucopia of threats.
Leiby DA, Gill JE.
Department of Transmissible Diseases, American Red Cross Holland Laboratory, Rockville, MD 20855, USA. [email protected]
Over the past several decades, the frequency of contact between humans and ticks has increased dramatically. Concomitantly, several newly recognized tick-borne pathogens have emerged joining those already known to be transmitted by ticks. Together these factors have led to an enhanced public health awareness of ticks, tick-borne agents, and their associated diseases.
Reports that several of these agents are transmitted by blood transfusion have raised concerns about blood safety. The primary agents of interest are members of the genus Babesia, but Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia rickettsii, Colorado tick fever virus, and tick-borne encephalitis virus also have been transmitted by transfusion.
In many cases, these agents and their diseases share common features including vectors, symptoms, and diagnosis. Unfortunately, they also share the common problem of insufficient epidemiologic and transmissibility data necessary for making informed decisions regarding potential blood safety interventions.
Although further surveillance and epidemiologic studies of tick-borne agents are clearly needed, at present only the Babesia warrant consideration for active intervention; because donor management strategies based on risk-factor questions are inadequate, leukoreduction not effective for agents found in red cells and pathogen inactivation remains problematic for red cell products.
Despite the present unavailability of screening assays, some form of serologic and nucleic acid testing may be justified for the Babesia. Given that interactions between humans and ticks are likely to increase in the future, vigilance is required as new and extant tick-borne agents pose potential threats to transfusion safety.
PMID: 15497129 [PubMed - in process]
(thanks lou)
------------------ C O L O R A D O * S U P P O R T * S Y S T E M [email protected]
posted
How Ironic, we can't be treated because we don't have it, but don't dare give blood. Posts: 36 | From Upstate, NY | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Neonatal babesiosis: case report and review of the literature.
Fox LM, Wingerter S, Ahmed A, Arnold A, Chou J, Rhein L, Levy O.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. [email protected]
A case of transfusion-associated neonatal babesiosis is presented. Jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, anemia and conjugated hyperbilirubinemia developed in this preterm infant. The diagnosis was eventually made by blood smear, serology and polymerase chain reaction. The patient was treated with clindamycin and quinine and made a favorable recovery.
Of neonatal babesiosis reported in the literature, 9 other cases are reviewed, including 6 that were transfusion-associated, 2 congenital and 2 tick transmitted.
PMID: 16462298 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
(thanks Miss Cave )
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
up
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
Jellybelly
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7142
posted
My daughter gave birth, if you could call it that to a 26 1/2 week preemie weighing 1 lb 15 oz. It is very important that they get breast milk and so my daughter pumped night and day to feed her little girl. She produced so much milk that she could have feed 20 babies and the nurses were constantly asking her to donate the excess. She refused, even though they just trashed literally gallons of milk.
At the time, we didn't know Lyme was the problem. We were sick, that we knew. Thankfully she didn't contribute the milk and worrying about how many little ones would become sick from the contaminated milk isn't something that she will have to worry about now that we know it is Lyme and whatevr else. Worrying about her own girls is hard enough.
Posts: 1251 | From california | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
Transfer of Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. infection via blood transfusion in a murine model.
* Gabitzsch ES, * Piesman J, * Dolan MC, * Sykes CM, * Zeidner NS.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Bacterial Zoonoses Branch, Foothills Campus, Fort Collins, Colorado 80522, USA.
Without antibiotic treatment, the Lyme-disease-causing bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi can be cultured from the peripheral blood of human patients nearly 6 wk post-tick bite.
To determine if Lyme disease spirochetes can be transmitted from a spirochetemic donor mouse to a naive recipient during blood transfusion, blood taken from immunocompetent infected mice was transfused into either immunodeficient (SCID) mice, inbred immunocompetent animals (C3H/HeJ), or outbred mice.
Nine of 19 (47.7%) immunodeficient mice, 7 of 15 (46.8%) inbred immunocompetent mice, and 6 of 10 (60.0%) outbred mice became infected with B. burgdorferi after transfusion.
Our results indicate that it is possible to acquire B. burgdoferi infection via transfused blood in a mouse model of Lyme borreliosis.
PMID: 16995409 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
(thanks Cave )
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
Symptoms begin roughly 4-5 days after the tick bite, although incubation periods of as long as 20 days are reported. For the first 2 weeks of disease, free virus can be isolated from the blood. This is followed by a period during which the virus circulates inside of erythropoietic cells. The virus can live in the red blood cells for the life of the cell, which is roughly 120 days. For this reason, blood donation is prohibited in patients for 6 months following infection.
Cases with prominent hepatic or CNS manifestations have been reported. Transfusion-associated cases from viremic patients have occurred.Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Now wait a minute here! Why don't we give our organs and blood to those professionals that believe that there is no chronic Lyme Disease! According to these designated recipients, Lyme is gone after 28 days of Tx, So they shouldn't be in any danger from those of us that have already had long term abx Tx right?
Here's a partial list of people that could take our organs:
The IDSA
Gary P. Wormser
Raymond J. Dattwyler
Eugene D. Shapiro
John J. Halperin
Allen C. Steere
Mark S. Klempner
Peter J. Krause
Johan S. Bakken
Franc Strle
Gerold Stanek
Linda Bockenstedt
Durland Fish
J. Stephen Dumler
Robert B. Nadelman
-------------------- You're only a failure when you stop trying. Posts: 945 | From U.S | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged |
so what if every lyme victem contacted the CDC and told them that they are going to donate blood ( of course do not donate- for the sake of your fellow man-)flood them with calls and emails
would it cause some commotion and bring it to the news ???????
2mag
Posts: 20 | From Northern California | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged |
Cobweb
Unregistered
posted
I have been permantently black balled by Red Cross for donating blood-which is a good thing, BUT my Driver's License still has me designated as a DONOR. Wonder how I can change it to donate to science rather than transplant? Carol B
IP: Logged |
Michelle M
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7200
posted
This is a really good thread.
I like to think of it as "Ironies of Lyme Disease."
Here's a good example which positively slays me.
The IDSA and the insurance companies assure me there's no such thing as 'chronic lyme' and therefore I must be cured by now. (Yeah, right.)
Then how can it be legal to deny me health insurance as soon as I put 'lyme disease' down on my application?
I mean, how can they have it both ways???
And the blood supply is another thing.
The insurance company tells me 'you get 7 days of Mepron to treat babesia WA-1 and after that, you're all better!'
But Red Cross, knowing better, says, 'Don't ever show up around here with your protozoa-infested blood!'
Again, how can they have it both ways?
Is it any wonder people hate insurance companies? And those in their service? (Micul's list is right on.)
Michelle
Posts: 3193 | From Northern California | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
(I should thank Tincup for this...but it makes me too sad)
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Erythema migrans in solid-organ transplant recipients.
Maraspin V, Cimperman J, Lotric-Furlan S, Logar M, Ruzic-Sabljic E, Strle F. Clin Infect Dis. 2006 Jun 15;42(12):1751-4. Epub 2006 May 5.
Department of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Six adult solid-organ transplant recipients who had chronic drug-induced immunosuppression and who presented with solitary erythema migrans were treated with antibiotics administered at the same dosage and for the same duration used for the treatment of early, localized Lyme borreliosis in immunocompetent patients. The patients had a smooth course of illness and a favorable outcome but did not develop a measurable borrelial serum antibody response.
(thanks IMA )
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Tick-Borne Disease Transmission by Blood Donation Prevalent in Endemic Areas
October 20th, 2005 9:52 am
Medscape Medical News
The need to develop strategies to prevent transmission of tick-borne disease via blood transfusion is increasing as new reports continue to surface. Although not as much in the popular press as Lyme disease, Babesia microti is creating its own quieter havoc.
In a study presented here at the Infectious Diseases Society of America 43rd annual meeting, Megan Nguyen, BS, from the American Red Cross in Rockville, Maryland, presented data from a six-year study that showed the prevalence of B microti transmission via blood transfusion in areas where the tick is commonly found.
Examination of 13,573 samples from blood donors from 1999 to 2004 in endemic regions of Connecticut showed that 175 samples (1.3%) tested positive for B microti infection based on indirect fluorescent antibody testing.
Of these 175, 129 donors consented to participate in a three-year follow-up study in which they were tested by IFA for the presence of antibodies to B microti as well as receiving nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for parasitemia on a regular basis. Overall, 27 donors (21%) were found to have parasitemia as indicated by a positive PCR test, suggesting that some patients have persistent, ongoing infection.
In addition, parasitemia rates decreased from 55% in the first two years of the follow-up study to 3% in the third and final year. Ms. Nguyen said the study did not show a clear reason for this, adding that many factors could account for it.
Ms. Nguyen emphasized that ``anybody who has had B microti is permanently prohibited from donating blood'' and is registered in the blood bank system of the Red Cross nationwide. However, it is important to identify those people infected with B microti prior to blood donation. According to Ms. Nguyen, most of the transfusion-related transmission occurs through people who are infected with the tick-borne disease but who are asymptomatic.
Identifying infected people before they donate blood is therefore an important goal in reducing the risk of transfusion-related B microti transmission, but the best way to do this is not yet clear, she said.
Richard Whitley, MD, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama in Birmingham who moderated the session, told Medscape that prospective blood donors are not currently screened routinely for tick-borne diseases, an issue that needs to be addressed by local blood banks.
However, Ms. Nguyen told Medscape she is hopeful ``that there will be screening'' or a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for testing before donation. Unfortunately, she added, she does not know of any test under investigation for FDA approval.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
Thanks for posting this Melanie. Wow, that seems like a high percentage. Very frightening. I wonder how many people I infected before I became too ill to give blood?
I often see fibromyalgia groups talking about giving blood and I cringe at the thought because I have no doubt that some of them will be passing on infection.
If I ever need blood I don't know what I'll do. I certainly couldn't get it from my family since almost all are sick and probably infected.
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
canbravelyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9785
posted
I apologize for not checking out all the x-references, but I just don't have the brainpower
What is the general feeling about organ donation? Is it better to receive a Lyme infected organ than none at all? I'm ambivalent...
Your thoughts?
Best,
CBL.
-------------------- For medical advice related to Lyme disease, please see an ILADS physician. Posts: 1494 | From Getting there... | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Good morning Terry, I too struggle with the moral consequences of giving blood before I knew I was infected. Thank Goodness, I was very bad at it, and the Blood Bank basically told me not to bother again.
As far as receiving blood for a medical emergency...it is always a gamble. But, if you know you are going in for a procedure, you can begin to store up your OWN blood in advance. Not a really great choice is it?
Hey CBL, You ask a very good question that has been raised here before. It is my personal belief that we should NEVER donate any organs, tissue or blood for use on others. There have been studies where TBDs have been contracted with all of the above into a healthy patient.
Now, having said that...IF I had to make the choice of going without a critical organ, I think I would take my chances and receive an infected one vs. none at all. Then, there could at least be a possibility of treatment working on the infected organ...and the possibility of living vs. not.
This was accomplished with one case report of an infected patient. I don't know if any follow-up was completed...but temporarily, at least, the patient did ``recover from the newly acquired infection''.
It is my fervent hope and intent, down the road, that we will be able to set up proper donation channels for TBD infected patients; either for living transplant, or postmortem research.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi in a Blood Donor
Presented at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases 2000 (July ,2000,Atlanta) Abstract: HCV-Blood Safety - 4 S. J. Badon1, R. G. Cable1, J. Aslanzadeh
1. American Red Cross Connecticut Region, Farmington, CT; 2. UCONN, John Dempsey Hospital, Farmington, CT
It has been demonstrated that Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, can be cultured from blood. The period of spirochetemia appears to be brief. Although Borrelia burgdorferi can survive under blood bank storage conditions transfusion transmission has not been demonstrated. Herein we describe the isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi in a second Connecticut blood donation.
The blood donor was a 41 year old female with a questionable tick exposure. A day after blood donation she noted a bulls eye lesion over her side. She went to her physician and a clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease was made and she was treated with antibiotics. Serologic testing for Lyme disease was not performed. The donor notified the blood center and the donation was quarantined, sent for PCR analysis.
PCR was performed with a primer set for OSP A on the blood donation. The results were positive.
This finding is the second case in Connecticut and further supports the possibility that it may be possible to transmit Borrelia burgdorferi in a blood transfusion. However, since the spirochetemic phase of infection appears to be brief, the likelihood of transmission is low.
Nevertheless, it is expected that transfusion transmitted Lyme disease will be identified in the future.
(thanks Ann OH )
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
Transfusion of 500 ml of blood, contributed by a donor three days before the onset of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and refrigerated for nine days, caused this disease in the recipient.
The blood donor died of Rocky Mountain spotted fever after six days; rickettsia were identified in various tissues by immunofluorescence techniques.
The recipient of the blood became mildly ill and recovered fully; specific antibiotic treatment was initiated on the fourth day of illness. Diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever was confirmed in the recipient by positive serologic reactions and isolation of Rickettsia rickettsii from blood after inoculation in animals and tissue culture.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Proceedings of a consensus conference: pathogen inactivation-making decisions about new technologies.
Webert KE, Cserti CM, Hannon J, Lin Y, Pavenski K, Pendergrast JM, Blajchman MA. Medical, Scientific, and Research Affairs, Canadian Blood Services, Hamilton, Edmonton and Toronto, Canada. [email protected]
Significant progress has been made in reducing the risk of pathogen transmission to transfusion recipients. Nonetheless, there remains a continuing risk of transmission of viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and prions to recipients. These include many of the viruses for which specific screening tests exist as well as pathogens for which testing is currently not being done, including various species of bacteria, babesiosis, variant Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, hepatitis A virus, human herpes virus 8, chikungunya virus, Chagas disease, and malaria.
Pathogen inactivation (PI) technologies potentially provide an additional way to protect the blood supply from emerging agents and also provide additional protection against both known and as-yet-unidentified agents. However, the impact of PI on product quality and recipient safety remains to be determined.
The purpose of this consensus conference was to bring together international experts in an effort to consider the following issues with respect to PI: implementation criteria; licensing requirements; blood service and clinical issues; risk management issues; cost-benefit impact; and research requirements. These proceedings are provided to make available to the transfusion medicine community the considerable amount of important information presented at this consensus conference.
PMID: 18063190 [PubMed - in process]
(thanks TC )
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
Not only did the Red Cross not ASK my son if he had Lyme or Babs when he very recently donated blood at his high school, when I called their 800 number to tell them he did, NO ONE EVER CALLED ME BACK. I told them it was important, his blood should not be used, but it is just an answering service or something that takes your name and number, and they NEVER called back.
So now someone is walking around with his blood, oh and by the way, we live in CT, kind of an endemic area, I would say.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
That is pretty pathetic, Tracy. I hope someone was paying attention, and did something but just didn't call you about it.
(one can hope) Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
Well they never even took my son's name or where he had donated; it was a national 800 number; so they couldn't have done anything.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
-
Cobweb ,
Yeah, my driver's license has a permanent "donor" mark, too . . . started long before I knew I shouldn't
I asked about that at the DMV for the last renewal and they said that other papers would have to be in place and that family would have to OK donation. As long as family knew it was not longer safe to do so, their should be no problem.
What we have on our emergency/ final instructions is what matters.
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
FDA/CDC WARN AGAINST BLOOD DONATIONS BY THOSE POSSIBLY EXPOSED TO TICK-BORNE ILLNESSES
"These establishments need to be informed that these National Guardsmen may have been exposed to tick-borne pathogens which could possibly be transmitted through blood transfusion.
If notified, blood establishments should take immediate steps to retrieve the potentially affected blood and blood components intended for transfusion."
"We are convening this workshop at the present time because FDA has observed a recent increase in the number of reports of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis..."
"...During the last 40 years, more than 60 cases of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis have been recognized in the United States. In years 2006 and 2007, FDA received a total of five reports of fatal transfusion-transmitted babesiosis (primary or contributory cause of death) in the United States..."
(thanks ldfighter )
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Anaplasma phagocytophilum Transmitted Through Blood Transfusion --- Minnesota, 2007
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 24, 2008 MMWR 57(42);1145-1148
Anaplasma phagocytophilum, a gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterium of neutrophils, causes human anaplasmosis, a tickborne rickettsial disease formerly known as human granulocytic ehrlichiosis.
In November 2007, the Minnesota Department of Health was contacted about A. phagocytophilum infection in a hospitalized Minnesota resident who had recently undergone multiple blood transfusions. Subsequent investigation indicated the infection likely was acquired through a transfusion of red blood cells.
This report describes the patient's clinical history and the epidemiologic and laboratory investigations. Although a previous case of transfusion-transmitted anaplasmosis was reported, this is the first published report in which transfusion transmission of A. phagocytophilum was confirmed by testing of the recipient and a donor.
posted
Melanie, God bless you, you are doing such a wonderful job...hope the word gets out all over..if they could report this subject on TV..boy would it get out...thanks
-------------------- madgen Posts: 342 | From newjersey | Registered: Oct 2007
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Thank you Madge, that is very kind of you.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Title Bartonella henselae survives after the storage period of red blood cell units: is it transmissible by transfusion?
Author(s) Magalh�es RF, Pitassi LH, Salvadego M, de Moraes AM, Barjas-Castro ML, Velho PE
Institution Department of Medical Clinic, Dermatology Division.
Source Transfus Med 2008 Oct; 18(5):287-91.
Abstract Bartonella henselae is the agent of cat scratch disease and bacillary angiomatosis. Blood donors can be asymptomatic carriers of B. henselae and the risk for transmission by transfusion should be considered.
The objective of this study was to demonstrate that B. henselae remains viable in red blood cell (RBC) units at the end of the storage period. Two RBC units were split into two portions. One portion was inoculated with B. henselae and the other was used as a control. All units were stored at 4 degrees C for 35 days. Aliquots were collected on a weekly basis for culture in a dish with chocolate agar, ideal for the cultivation of this agent.
Samples were collected on days 1 and 35 and taken for culture in Bact/Alert(R) blood culture bottles. Aliquots taken simultaneously were fixed in Karnovsky's medium for subsequent electron microscopy evaluation. Samples from infected bags successfully isolated B. henselae by chocolate agar culture, although Bact/Alert(R) blood culture bottles remained negative. Bartonella spp. structures within erythrocytes were confirmed by electron microscopy. The viability of B. henselae was demonstrated after a storage period of RBC units.
These data reinforce the possibility of infection by transfusion of blood units collected from asymptomatic blood donors.
Language eng Pub Type(s) Journal Article PubMed ID 18937735
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
)
oops! 
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic