Prevalence of Anti-Leishmania donovani Antibody Among Brazilian Blood Donors and Multiply Transfused Hemodialysis Patients

Kleber G. Luz School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Kleber G. Luz in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Valdemir O. Da Silva School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Valdemir O. Da Silva in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Elza M. Gomes School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Elza M. Gomes in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Fatima C. S. Machado School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Fatima C. S. Machado in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Mauricio A. F. Araujo School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Mauricio A. F. Araujo in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Henrique E. M. Fonseca School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Henrique E. M. Fonseca in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Telma C. Freire School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Telma C. Freire in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Jose B. D'Almeida School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Jose B. D'Almeida in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
,
Marcos Palatnik School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Marcos Palatnik in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
, and
Clarisa B. Palatnik-de-Sousa School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Hemonorte and Hemovida Blood Banks, Rio Grande do Norte, Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Brazil

Search for other papers by Clarisa B. Palatnik-de-Sousa in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

The prevalence of anti-Leishmania donovani antibodies was investigated in 1,500 Brazilian blood donors and multiply transfused hemodialysis patients. Sera were tested using the fucose-mannose ligand (FML) ELISA, which was shown to have 100% sensitivity and 96% specificity for kala-azar. Among 1,194 volunteer blood donors, seroreactivity was 9%, increasing to 25% in a periurban kala-azar focus. However, higher positivity (37%) was found in multiply transfused hemodialysis patients from Natal, where kala-azar is constantly present in low numbers (endemic), with sporadic outbreaks in localized regions (endemic and epidemic). Risk factors included blood transfusion, which was significantly associated with the presence of anti-Leishmania antibodies (x2 = 8.567, P < 0.005), but did not include potential exposure to sandfly bites (x2 = 0.033, P > 0.1). The prevalence significantly decreased to 7% in hemodialysis patients from Rio de Janeiro, where kala-azar is only occasionally seen, and was 0% in patients undergoing continuous ambulatorial peritoneal dialysis. The prospective analysis of 27 FML-seroreactive donors from Natal revealed amastigotes of Leishmania in the bone marrow of one subject while four had clinical complaints, including splenomegaly and hepatosplenomegaly. Our results point to the need for control of blood transfusion as a possible route for transmission of kala-azar in endemic areas.

Author Notes

Save