Prevalence Of Malaria Among Blood Donors in The National Center for Blood Transfusion and Research in Sana’a Yemen

Abstract

Background: Malaria has been killing millions of people worldwide. World Health Organization estimates that there are 300 million to 500 million of people infected with malaria. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the prevalence of malaria parasites among the blood donors attending the National Center for Blood Transfusion and Research in Sana’a, Yemen over a period of 6 months. Methods: Data collected from the National Center for Blood Transfusion and Research records for the year of 2012 and 2020. Secondary data were taken from 12.000 donors from 2012 and 18,000 from 2020. The records contain the patient’s number, blood bag, type of examination: cassette and confirmatory tests such as ELISA and type of malaria test. Results: In 2020, there were 814 Malaria-infected blood donors (97.8%), whereas, in 2012, there were only18 Malariainfected blood donors (2.2%). The male donors more infected (99.2%) than female donors (0.8%). The number of donors with blood group O+ were the highest infected people (50.4%), while the least infected donors is AB- (0.1%). The number of infected people with Plasmodium falciparum (24%) is the highest compared with other types of malaria (4%). The most packed cell volume (PCV) ratio among donor was 49%, the lowest PCV ratio in donors is 95% and 60% respectively. Conclusion: The study showed that the war played a significant role in increasing the number of people suffering from malaria and that the situation is worsening due to lack of awareness, migration and weak economic conditions.