Bloch Evan M, Siller Anita, Tonnetti Laura, Drews Steven J, Spencer Bryan R, Hedges Doris, Mergenthal Tessa, Weber-Schehl Marijke, Astl Manfred, Patel Eshan U, Gaber Manfred, Schennach Harald
Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Central Institute for Blood Transfusion and Immunology, Innsbruck, Austria.
Transfus Med Hemother. 2023 Feb 2;50(4):330-333. doi: 10.1159/000528793. eCollection 2023 Aug.
is a tick-borne intraerythrocytic parasite that is globally ubiquitous, yet understudied. Several species of have been shown to be transfusion-transmissible. has been reported in blood donors, animals, and ticks in the Tyrol (Western Austria), and regional cases of human babesiosis have been described. We sought to characterize the risk of to the local blood supply.
Prospective molecular testing was performed on blood donors who presented to regional, mobile blood collection drives in the Tyrol, Austria (27 May to October 4, 2021). Testing was conducted using the cobas Babesia assay (Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.), a commercial PCR assay approved for blood donor screening that is capable of detecting the 4 primary species causing human babesiosis (i.e., , , , and ). A confirmatory algorithm to manage initial PCR-reactive samples was developed, as were procedures for donor and product management.
A total of 7,972 donors were enrolled and screened; 4,311 (54.1%) were male, with a median age of 47 years (IQR = 34-55). No positive cases of were detected, corresponding with an overall prevalence of 0.00% (95% CI: 0.00%, 0.05%).
The findings suggest that the prevalence of is low in Austrian blood donors residing in the Tyrol, even during months of peak tick exposure. Although one cannot conclude the absence of in this population given the limited sample size, the findings suggest that the regional risk of transfusion-transmitted babesiosis is low.
[病原体名称]是一种通过蜱传播的红细胞内寄生虫，在全球范围内普遍存在，但研究较少。已证明几种[病原体名称]可通过输血传播。在蒂罗尔州（奥地利西部）的献血者、动物和蜱中已报告有[病原体名称]，并且已经描述了当地的人类巴贝斯虫病病例。我们试图确定[病原体名称]对当地血液供应的风险。
对前往奥地利蒂罗尔州地区流动采血点的献血者进行前瞻性分子检测（2021年5月27日至10月4日）。使用 cobas Babesia 检测法（罗氏分子系统公司）进行检测，这是一种经批准用于献血者筛查的商业聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测法，能够检测导致人类巴贝斯虫病的4种主要病原体（即[具体病原体1]、[具体病原体2]、[具体病原体3]和[具体病原体4]）。制定了用于处理初始PCR反应性样本的确认算法，以及献血者和血液制品管理程序。
共纳入并筛查了7972名献血者；其中4311名（54.1%）为男性，中位年龄为47岁（四分位间距 = 34 - 55岁）。未检测到[病原体名称]阳性病例，总体患病率为0.00%（95%置信区间：0.00%，0.05%）。
研究结果表明，居住在蒂罗尔州的奥地利献血者中[病原体名称]的患病率较低，即使在蜱暴露高峰期的几个月也是如此。尽管鉴于样本量有限，不能得出该人群中不存在[病原体名称]的结论，但研究结果表明输血传播巴贝斯虫病的区域风险较低。
