Journal article
No evidence for widespread Babesia microti transmission in Australia
Transfusion, Vol.59(7), pp.2368-2374
2019
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A fatal case of autochthonous Babesia microti infection was reported in Australia in 2012. This has implications for Australian public health and, given that babesiosis is transfusion transmissible, has possible implications for Australian blood transfusion recipients. We investigated the seroprevalence of antibodies to B. microti in Australian blood donors and in patients with clinically suspected babesiosis.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Plasma samples (n = 7,000) from donors donating in at-risk areas and clinical specimens from patients with clinically suspected babesiosis (n = 29) were tested for B. microti IgG by immunofluorescence assay (IFA). IFA initially reactive samples were tested for B. microti IgG and IgM by immunoblot and B. microti DNA by polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTS: Although five donors were initially reactive for B. microti IgG by IFA, none was confirmed for B. microti IgG (zero estimate; 95% confidence interval, 0%–0.05%) and all were negative for B. microti DNA. None of the patient samples had B. microti IgG, IgM, or DNA.
CONCLUSIONS: This study does not provide evidence for widespread exposure to B. microti in Australian blood donors at local theoretical risk, nor does it provide evidence of B. microti infection in Australian patients with clinically suspected babesiosis. Given that confirmed evidence of previous exposure to B. microti was not seen, these data suggest that transmission of this pathogen is currently uncommon in Australia and unlikely to pose a risk to transfusion safety at present.
Details
- Title
- No evidence for widespread Babesia microti transmission in Australia
- Authors/Creators
- H.M. Faddy (Author/Creator) - Australian Red Cross LifebloodK.M. Rooks (Author/Creator) - Australian Red Cross LifebloodP.J. Irwin (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityE. Viennet (Author/Creator) - Australian Red Cross LifebloodA. Paparini (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityC.R. Seed (Author/Creator) - Australian Red Cross LifebloodS.L. Stramer (Author/Creator) - American Red CrossR.J. Harley (Author/Creator) - Australian Red Cross LifebloodH.‐T. Chan (Author/Creator)P.M. Dennington (Author/Creator) - Australian Red Cross LifebloodR.L.P. Flower (Author/Creator) - Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
- Publication Details
- Transfusion, Vol.59(7), pp.2368-2374
- Publisher
- Blackwell Publishing Inc.
- Identifiers
- 991005541504307891
- Copyright
- © 2019 AABB
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Veterinary and Life Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites
Metrics
25 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 1 Clinical & Life Sciences
- 1.258 Zoonotic Diseases
- 1.258.227 Tick-borne Pathogens
- Web Of Science research areas
- Hematology
- ESI research areas
- Clinical Medicine