title: Surveillance for bloodborne infections.
abstract: At the close of the 20th century, the blood supply in the U.S. is among the safest in the world. Multifaceted and overlapping strategies that include comprehensive donor history-taking and screening (soon to include nucleic acid testing for HCV and HIV), and viral inactivation of plasma derivatives have resulted in significant declines in transfusion-transmitted infections. Nonetheless, we and our blood supply remain vulnerable to new or re-emerging infections as a consequence of changes in human behavior and demographics, improvements in technology and industry, economic development and land use, and microbial change. The second phase of CDC's strategic plan to improve our national capacity against emerging infectious diseases targets diseases transmitted through blood and blood products as one of its nine special focus areas. One of our mainstays against emerging threats must include surveillance, integrated with a multi-disciplinary approach that includes epidemiology and laboratory sciences. Enhanced surveillance can play an important role in helping to ensure the continued safety of blood and plasma products.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Chamberland
mesh_terms: D001688:Biological Products; D001771:Blood Banks / Q000600:supply & distribution; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D011159:Population Surveillance
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products