Asymptomatic carriage of malaria parasites in blood donors in Yaoundé

Background: Malaria can be transmitted through blood transfusion, but there is paucity of data concerning transfusion‐transmitted malaria in Cameroun. Objective: To determine prevalence of malaria infection and association with epidemiological and clinical data obtained from donors' responses. Methods: Microscopic examination of stained thick and thin blood smears for the detection, quantification and specification of Plasmodium sp was performed on 493 blood donors in two main hospitals in Yaoundé during October and November 2007. Results: Overall 6·5% of blood donors were detected positive for Plasmodium sp infection: 90·6% was Plasmodium falciparum and 9·4% was Plasmodium malariae. Parasite counts ranged from 80 to 800 µL−1 with a median of 320 µL−1. Asexual and sexual forms were found in 75·9 and 24·1% of cases, respectively. Age, sex, type of blood donor (voluntary non‐remunerated vs familial/replacement) and fate of blood donation (selected vs discarded) did not affect the prevalence of malaria carriage. The lack of malaria prophylaxis as well as the manifestation of malaria symptoms within 2 weeks and 1 month preceding blood donation were significantly associated with high frequency of parasites carriage. Conclusion: Malaria parasites carriage is frequent among blood donors in Yaoundé. These data seem to describe high‐risk donor profile and may help improving blood safety related to transfusion‐transmitted malaria in Cameroon.