Home  |  Contact Us  |  About Cerus  |  Site Map  |  Search:

Bacterial Contamination:
The Most Frequent Transfusion-Transmitted Infection


The estimated incidence of bacterial contamination is 1 in 2000 random donor or apheresis platelet units [1, 2]

Bacterial contamination is acknowledged as the most frequent transfusion-transmitted infection of all blood components [3]. Bacteria are a particular problem in platelet concentrates because of their storage at room temperature, which favors rapid bacterial growth. In addition, bacteria are an under-reported problem in platelet transfusions [4].

 

Prevalence of Bacterial Contamination of Cellular Blood Products:
Summarized from the Available Prospective Studies [4]
Product No. of Studies No. of Positive Units No. of Units Tested Positive Units (per 105 U) Approximate Frequency
Whole Blood Derived Platelet Concentrates (a) 8 64 188,958 33.9 1 in 3,000
Apheresis Platelet Concentrates (b) 5 21 41,175 51.0 1 in 2,000
Red Blood Cells (c) 2 1 38,475 2.6 1 in 38,000
Overall 15 86 268,608 32.0* 1 in 3,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

References: a[5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12], b[7, 8, 13, 14, 15], c[7, 14]
*95% confidence intervals; 25.6 to 39.1


Impact of Bacterial Contamination

  • Transfusion-associated bacterial sepsis is estimated to occur in 1 case per 6 contaminated units transfused [16], and can be fatal in up to 1 in 4 cases [17].

  • In the UK, Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) data from 1996 to 2001 indicate that 60% of all reported cases of transfusion-transmitted infection were attributed to bacterial contamination [18].

  • In France, Haemovigilance Network data reported 15% of transfusion-related deaths between 1996 - 1997 were due to bacterial contamination [4, 19].

Current Safeguards Despite a battery of tests for viral pathogens, only a single bacterial strain—Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis—has historically been selected for routine screening.

Although automated culture methods are available for detecting the presence of different classes of bacteria, these systems have limitations, including sampling errors, false-positive and false-negative results, and long lead times of up to 48 hours for reporting.

Benefits of the INTERCEPT Blood System The INTERCEPT Blood System offers broad-spectrum inactivation of bacterial pathogens in platelet concentrates and plasma, reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted infection.
© Cerus Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Use of the INTERCEPT Blood System in the United States is limited by Federal law to investigational use. If you are a resident of the U.S., please click here.

The information on this site is not country-specific, and may contain information that is outside the approved indications for the country in which you are located. The INTERCEPT Blood System is CE marked for use with platelets and plasma. No pathogen inactivation system has been shown to inactivate all pathogens.

Website design by NetPilot Web Solutions
Legal Info  |   Privacy Policy