Current concepts on the transmission of bacteria and parasites by blood components

• Main Author: Silvano Wendel Neto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associação Paulista de Medicina
• Series: São Paulo Medical Journal
• Subjects: Blood Transfusion; Infectious Disease; Bacteria; Protozoars; Viruses
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-31801995000600007&lng=en&tlng=en

Several bacterial and parasite transfusion-transmitted diseases have been described in the medical literature. This review deals with the main bacterial (Syphilis, Lyme disease, Gram positive and Gram negative agents), parasite (Chagas disease, malaria, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis and babesiosis) and rickettsial diseases that are carried by blood products. Preventional aspects (e.g. storage, screening tests, use of leukocyte-depleted components), diagnosis, geographical distribution and the incidence of these transfusional hazards are also discussed.