This could be a real game-changer for blood safety in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Shirley Owusu-Ofori
Malaria is a blood-borne disease caused by the malaria parasite – in west Africa, this is mainly Plasmodium falciparum. The parasite is mainly transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. In sub-Saharan Africa, malaria infection is endemic and a substantial proportion of the population carries the parasite, even when individuals do not show any symptoms. Only a few blood centres screen donor blood of the parasite and hence there is a high risk of malaria transmission through transfusion.
Because of resource limitations, the most common red blood cell product transfused is whole blood. A half of all blood donors in Ghana carry detectable levels of malaria parasites in the blood and as many as one in four (between 14-28%) of blood recipients become infected.
The Mirasol pathogen reduction technology system, developed by the US-based Japanese company Terumo BCT, has been developed to treat whole blood using ultraviolet light energy and riboflavin (vitamin B2) to reduce the parasite load and to inactivate white blood cells. It has been shown to reduce P. falciparum load in vitro and to maintain adequate blood quality during 21 days of cold storage.
In a study published in The Lancet and funded by Terumo BCT, researchers report the results of the African Investigation of the Mirasol System (AIMS) trial, which explored whether the use of blood treated with Mirasol would prevent the transmission of malaria to patients with anaemia being supported with whole blood transfusion.
Image: Blood transfusion bags
Credit: Wellcome Images
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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