Detection of asymptomatic Leishmania donovani in healthy voluntary blood donors

• Published in: Transfusion clinique et biologique : journal de la Société française de transfusion sanguine 2023-05, Vol.30 (2), p.228-231
• Main Authors: Abdul Naeem, Mohammad, Aamir, Mohammad, Ijaz, Farhat, Amin, Nayyar, Khurram Aftab, Rana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood donor screening; Leishmania donovani
• ISSN: 1246-7820
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tracli.2023.01.001

•Two thousand (n = 2000) consecutive healthy voluntary blood donors were tested for 18 s rRNA by Real time Polymerase chain reaction.•One thousand (n = 1000) subject’s permanent resident of Azad Kashmir along with a thousand (n = 1000) healthy voluntary blood donors from rest of Pakistan were included.•No donor was diagnosed as an asymptomatic carrier.•Screening of blood donors for Leismania Donovan's is not recommended even in endemic areas such as Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.•Future research on healthy donors with follow-up is necessary in order to investigate persistence of Leismania in asymptomatic blood donors for longer than a year following exposure. To check incidence of Asymptomatic Leishmania donovani reporting to Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion Rawalpindi. Two thousand (n = 2000) consecutive healthy voluntary blood donors were tested for 18 s rRNA by Real time Polymerase chain reaction. One thousand (n = 1000) subject’s permanent resident of Azad Kashmir along with a thousand (n = 1000) healthy voluntary blood donors from rest of Pakistan were included. The study was carried out over a period of three months Jun – Aug 2020. Total of 2000 blood donors were enrolled in the study, all were males with age ranging from 16 to 60 years. Stratification based on residence, 1000 (50 %) resided in the Azad kashmir, 349 (17.45 %) were from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, 541 (27.05 %) from Punjab mainly residing in Lahore and Multan, 110 (5.5 %) were from other cities of Pakistan. Grouping on the basis of age, 55.25 % (n = 1105) of the donors were 16–25 years old, 19.45 % (n = 389) were in age range of 26–40 years old, 15.55 % (n = 311) were 41–50 years old and 9.75 % (n = 195) 51–60 years old. No donor was diagnosed as an asymptomatic carrier. Screening of blood donors for Leishmania donovani is not recommended.