Babesiosis in humans is caused by infection with various species of Babesia (Apicomplexa, Piroplasmida), mainly transmitted by an arthropod vector--Ixodes spp. ticks. This review will focus on blood transfusion as another mode of Babesia transmission, especially in endemic areas, as well as the impact of human babesiosis on transfusion medicine.

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To make blood components and blood products safe, many safety measures are applied to avoid transfusion-transmitted infections. Defining a balanced safety policy is not easy, we face several dilemmas: How safe should blood be? Should we opt for maximal or optimal safety? Are perceived threats real and relevant? Should blood be clean while food, air, or mosquitoes are not? Is vCJD still a threat...

Modifications in donor screening and the introduction of laboratory testing of donated blood for anti-HIV-1 and anti-HTLV-I have resulted in a significant reduction in the risks of retroviral infections from blood transfusion. Presently, the American Red Cross detects an average of eight carriers of human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1) per 100,000 otherwise acceptable blood donors (0.00...

background: human t-lymphotropic virus (htlv), a retrovirus, is the causative agent of adult t-lymphocytic leukemia (atl) and tropical spastic paraparesia (tsp). htlv-1 is transmitted mainly through blood transfusion. sabzevar is an endemic region for htlv infection; hence it is essential to detect the prevalence of htlv1/2 infection in the blood donors of this city. materials and methods: in t...

diagnosis of hepatitis b is routinely based on of serological assay of hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag). occult hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection is generally defined as the detection of hbv -dna in the serum or tissues of subjects who have negative test for hbsag. transmission of hbv infection has been documented from hbsag negative, anti-hbc positive blood and organ donors. the aim of this...

Although the major diseases transmitted by transfusion today are AIDS and hepatitis, many others also are known. These include CMV, syphilis, Chagas disease, babesiosis, parvovirus B19, malaria, Epstein-Barr infection, and many others that have been reported only once or twice. Reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases is a problem for donor centers where donor screening and laborat...