Transfusion-Transmitted Malaria — Maryland, 2025
- Presentation Day/Time: Thursday, April 23, 9:25 AM
- Presenter: Tara Kedia, MD, MPH, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
The Issue
- The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) was notified of a patient who had been diagnosed with malaria. The patient had no travel history that might explain malaria but had recently had a blood transfusion.
What We Did
- Multiple agencies collaboratively investigated to confirm malaria and identify the source to mitigate risks for other transfusion recipients.
What We Found
- The asymptomatic blood donor was identified through lab testing. The blood donor had malaria risk factors outside the time windows of the blood donation deferral criteria, so they were able to donate blood. The blood donor was treated for malaria. Plasma collected from the same donor had also been transfused into another patient; that patient tested negative for malaria.
What This Means
- It is important to consider malaria among patients who present with a fever and have recently had a blood transfusion, even if there’s no travel that would explain the diagnosis. This case also highlights potential utility of laboratory-based screening of donors with malaria risk factors.
