Antimalaric antibodies prevalence in blood donors at the University Hospital ""San Vicente de Paul"" in Medellin, Colombia

Abstract

The IgG type antimalaric antibodies prevalence was determined by immunofluorescence assay (IFA) in 392 serum samples of blood donors from University Hospital San Vicente de Paul Medellin,Colombia.The samples were collected during September and October, 1995 and were stored at -70 ""C.The seropositivity was 1.8% (7 donors); three of them had antecedents of living in a malaric endemic region, and two of them had suffered malaria at least once in their lifetime, while other four donors had neither lived in malaric endemic regions nor had antecedents of having suffered it. All the donors had negative thick blood smears for malaria parasites. We recommend to inform blood donors about the whereabouts of malaric endemic regions in Antioquia, as well as complernenting the blood banks survey with a thick blood smear screening for all units of blood that will be transfunded, and to determine antimalaric antibodies in donors that may be suspected to be potential transmitters of Plasmodium, in order to reduce the risk of transfusional malaria.