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Malaria and Viruses Common among Travelers from Tropical and Subtropical Areas

May 4, 2016

Virus particles, artwork

Malaria is the most common cause of fever in travelers returning from tropical and subtropical areas. In order to better understand the other vector-borne and viral infections occurring in these areas, researchers examined 1,592 blood samples collected from ill travelers returning to Canada.

One-hundred and sixty five were positive for malaria, and the other samples were screened for an array of viral pathogens by real-time PCR assays.  More than 20% of individuals (n=262) were positive for at least one viral pathogen including herpes simplex viruses (n=21, 1.6%), cytomegalovirus (n=4, 0.3%), Epstein-Barr virus (n=194, 14.9%), Chikungunya (n=5, 0.4%), hepatitis A (n=12, 0.9%), and dengue (n=33, 2.5%). Nine samples (0.7%) had mixed viral infections. The current 12 month deferral period for blood donation from travelers returning from areas endemic to malaria also ensures that viruses and other vector-borne infections are eliminated from the blood supply in the United States and Canada.

 

Reference

  1. Kariyawasam R, Lau R, Eshaghi A, Patel SN, Sider D, Gubbay JB, Boggild AK. Spectrum of Viral Pathogens in Blood of Malaria-Free Ill Travelers Returning to Canada. Emerg Infect Dis 2016;22: 854-61.

 

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