title: Risk Factors and Screening for Trypanosoma cruzi Infection of Dutch Blood Donors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Blood donors unaware of Trypanosoma cruzi infection may donate infectious blood. Risk factors and the presence of T. cruzi antibodies in at-risk Dutch blood donors were studied to assess whether specific blood safety measures are warranted in the Netherlands.
  
  
  METHODS
  Birth in a country endemic for Chagas disease (CEC), having a mother born in a CEC, or having resided for at least six continuous months in a CEC were considered risk factors for T. cruzi infection. From March through September 2013, risk factor questions were asked to all donors who volunteered to donate blood or blood components. Serum samples were collected from donors reporting one or more risk factors, and screened for IgG antibodies to T. cruzi by EIA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Risk factors for T. cruzi infection were reported by 1,426 of 227,278 donors (0.6%). Testing 1,333 at-risk donors, none (0.0%; 95%, CI 0.0-0.4%) was seroreactive for IgG antibodies to T. cruzi. A total of 472 donors were born in a CEC; 553 donors reported their mother being born in a CEC; and 1,121 donors reported a long-term stay in a CEC. The vast majority of reported risk factors were related to Suriname and Brazil. Overall, the participants resided for 7,694 years in CECs, which equals 2.8 million overnight stays. Of those, 1.9 million nights were spent in Suriname.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Asymptomatic T. cruzi infection appears to be extremely rare among Dutch blood donors. Blood safety interventions to mitigate the risk of T. cruzi transmission by transfusion would be highly cost-ineffective in the Netherlands, and are thus not required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Slot
authors.affiliation: Department of Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Virology, Sanquin Diagnostic Services, Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Boris M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hogema
authors.affiliation: Department of Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Molier
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Aldert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bart
authors.affiliation: Department of Blood-borne Infections, Sanquin Research, Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Virology, Sanquin Diagnostic Services, Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Medical Microbiology (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hans L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Zaaijer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001782:Blood Donors; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000635:transmission; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D012307:Risk Factors; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult