Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
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In sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of malaria parasitemia in blood donors varies from 0.6% to 50%. Although the burden of TTM in malaria-endemic countries is unknown, it is recommended that all donated blood is screened for malaria parasites. This study aimed to establish the incidence of TTM and identify a suitable screening test. ⋯ Although malaria parasites are commonly detected in blood donors in malaria-endemic areas, transfusion-transmitted malaria occurs infrequently. Policies recommend screening blood donors for malaria, but none of the commonly used methods is sufficiently sensitive to be used by blood banks in malaria-endemic countries.
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During the 2011-2012 influenza season, we enrolled hospitalized adults with acute respiratory illness and tested each for influenza using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Influenza vaccination was verified in 35% (6/17) of adults with influenza-associated hospitalizations compared to 64% (97/152) of test-negative controls; adjusted vaccine effectiveness was 71.4% (95% confidence interval, 17.1%-94.9%).