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Editorial
. 2014 Aug 28:13:337.
doi: 10.1186/1475-2875-13-337.

Finding connections in the unexpected detection of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum DNA in asymptomatic blood donors: a fact in the Atlantic Forest

Maria Anice Mureb Sallum  1 , Cláudio Tadeu Daniel-Ribeiro, Gabriel Zorello Laporta, Maria de Fátima Ferreira-da-Cruz, Luciana Morganti Ferreira Maselli, Débora Levy, Sérgio Paulo Bydlowski
Affiliations
Editorial

Finding connections in the unexpected detection of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum DNA in asymptomatic blood donors: a fact in the Atlantic Forest

Maria Anice Mureb Sallum et al. Malar J. .

Abstract

A recent paper in Malaria Journal reported the observation of unexpected prevalence rates of healthy individuals carrying Plasmodium falciparum (5.14%) or Plasmodium vivax (2.26%) DNA among blood donors from the main transfusion centre in the metropolitan São Paulo, a non-endemic area for malaria. The article has been challenged by a group of authors who argued that the percentages reported were higher than those found in blood banks of the endemic Amazon Region and also that that paper had not considered the literature on the classical dynamics of malaria transmission in the Atlantic Forest, which involves Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii and bromeliad malaria, due to P. vivax and Plasmodium malariae parasites, but not P. falciparum. The present commentary paper responds to this challenge and brings evidence and literature data supporting that the observed prevalence ratios may indicate a proportion of individuals that are exposed to Plasmodium transmission in permissive environments; that blood carrying parasite DNA may not be necessarily infective if used in transfusion; and that in the literature, there are examples supporting the circulation of P. falciparum in the area.

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References

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