Blood transfusion and iatrogenic risks in Mexico city: anti-Trypanosoma cruzi seroprevalence in 43,048 blood donors, evaluation of parasitemia, and electrocardiogram findings in seropositive

• Published in: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
• Main Authors: Nidia Hernández-Becerril, Ana Maria Mejía, Martha Alicia Ballinas-Verdugo, Verónica Garza-Murillo, Elsa Manilla-Toquero, Ruth López, Sergio Trevethan, Manuel Cardenas, Pedro Antonio Reyes, Kenji Hirayama, Victor Manuel Monteón
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2005
• Subjects: Trypanosoma cruzi; Chagas disease; blood bank; seroprevalence; Mexico; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Microbiology; QR1-502; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02762005000200002; https://doaj.org/article/03f5e10e2c8142a49374630ac7bd54d7

Iatrogenous transmission of Trypanosoma cruziby blood transfusion was suggested as a potential risk by Pellegrino (1949). Seropositive blood donors in Mexico were first reported in 1978, however, limited information is available due to small sampling, the use of heterogeneous serologic assays, and geographically limited studies. A wide survey carried out in 18 out of the 32 states of Mexico, showed a national mean of 1.6% seropositive among 64,969 donors, ranging from 0.2 to 2.8%. In the present study, we have screened 43,048 voluntary blood donors in a period of five years at the Instituto Nacional de Cardiología I. Chávez, a concentration hospital located in Mexico city which serves mainly the metropolitan area and accepts from all over the country. Standardized ELISA and IIF were used to identify seropositive individuals in addition to hemoculture, PCR and standard 12 lead ECG tests that were applied to a group of seropositive patients (29/161). The result showed a seropositivity of 0.37% (161/43,048). From the group of seropositive individuals 40% (12/29) were potential carriers of T. cruzi at the donation time and 5/29 had subclinical ECG abnormalities. Parasitological tests performed in 70 erythrocyte and platelet fractions from seropositive units (70/161) showed negative results. Our findings strongly support T. cruzi screening in the transfusion medicine practice and identify subclinical heart disease among seropositive blood donors.