title: [A case report of transfusion-transmitted Plasmodium vivax malaria from an asymptomatic donor to a premature newborn].
abstract: Most of the Colombian territory is endemic for malaria. Autochthonous cases with low parasitemia occur in the Pacific coast and in large zones of Antioquia and Córdoba. According to the Colombian legislation no malaria screening test is mandatory for blood donors from non-endemic areas. However, if they have traveled to malaria transmission regions they are deferred for six months before they can donate. This report describes a transfusion- transmitted malaria case in Cali (Valle del Cauca, Colombia), where a preterm newborn received infected blood from a donor that lived in the same city, but he had traveled to the rural area of the municipality of Dagua (Valle del Cauca, Colombia) 9 months before the donation. Thick blood smears confirmed Plasmodium vivax infection in the newborn and the donor sample was analyzed by PCR, which confirmed P. vivax infection. This case suggests the need for reviewing donor selection criteria and deferral strategies to prevent possible cases of transfusion-transmitted malaria.
authors.affiliation: Vigilancia en Salud Pública, Hospital Universitario del Valle, Cali, Colombia. daniel_dr60@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Echeverri
authors.forename: Dhayra Karem
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Barreto
authors.forename: Lyda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Osorio
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cortés
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martínez
mesh_terms: D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D001782:Blood Donors; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016780:Malaria, Vivax / Q000635:transmission*