Blood transfusion malaria among blood donors in the Central Blood Bank in Kassala State, Sudan

Background and aims: Although blood transfusion is generally believed to save human lives, blood can be a vehicle for the transmission of some infectious and parasitic diseases including malaria. So, this study aims to determine the prevalence of blood transfusion malaria among blood donors in the Central Blood Bank in Kassala State, according to age and blood groups. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the central blood bank in Kassala State among blood donors; this study involved one hundred blood samples, collected from donors aged from 18 to 41 years.  Results: The results showed that 1 (1%) of the donors was infected with the malaria parasite. The results also showed that the species of the malaria parasite was Plasmodium falciparum; the other Plasmodium species were not found. The results revealed that most donors were blood group O, while AB was the least common blood group; the blood group that harbored the malaria parasite was blood group O, and the other blood groups tested negative. The results also showed the highest number of blood donors was found in the age group of 24-29, and the positive donor was found in the same age group.  Conclusions: Both the blood films and immune chromatography test showed one positive result for the donor and the percentage of blood transfusion malaria was 1%

Prevalence of Malaria Parasite among Pregnant Women Attending to Saudi Kassala Teaching Hospital in Kassala State, Eastern Sudan

Objective. Malaria during pregnancy is a priority area for malaria research and control as pregnant women represent a high risk group for severe malaria, and the presentation of malaria during pregnancy varies according to the level of transmission in the area; so the aim of this study is to determine the prevalence rates of malaria parasite among pregnant women attending to Saudi Kassala Teaching hospital in Kassala state, 2022. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Saudi Kassala Teaching hospital in Kassala State. This study involved one hundred and eighty-five blood samples collected from pregnant women who was then examined by using blood films and ICT for malaria, and the data were collected by a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results. The prevalence of malaria among pregnant women was 2.2% (95% CI: 0.006–0.054). There was no significant difference among the different age groups with respect to the prevalence of malaria (P value = 0.483). The prevalence of malaria in rural residency was 2.2%, and this was significantly more common than the urban residency (P value = 0.021). When compared across the gestational trimesters, there was no significant difference between them (P value = 0.518). The number of gravidity is not related to malaria infection (P value = 0.737). The presence of symptom compliant of malaria during pregnancy does not suggest the presence of malaria (P value = 0.152). No difference was found between the different educational levels with respect to the prevalence of malaria (P value = 0.362). The result showed that there was 1 (0.5%) negative result in ICT which was positive in blood film for malaria (BFFM) and there were 3 (1.6%) positive malaria parasites by both methods in all 185 samples with statistically insignificant differences (P = 0.703). Conclusion. Plasmodium falciparum was only species detected in this study. Malaria among pregnant women was more prevalent in rural areas. However, other factors such as age, gestational age, gravidity, and educational level do not affect the prevalence of malaria in pregnant women. The presence of symptomatic compliant of malaria during pregnancy does not suggest the presence of malaria. The use of ICT or BFFM has similar diagnostic outcome for malaria in pregnancy