Infectious Complications

This chapter provides an overview of the several infectious complications associated with blood transfusions. The three major transfusion-transmitted viral agents that cause significant morbidity and mortality are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. The emergence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) highlighted transfusion as a high-risk therapy. Advances in testing have reduced the risk of disease transmission. However, there are still persistent risks of transmission of infections through transfusions in some cases due to emerging agents. Other infections like human T-cell lymphotropic virus (type 1 and type 2), ctomegalovirus, and parvovirus B19 can be transmitted by blood transfusion. They can produce chronic retroviral infection in humans, which can has serious outcomes. Parasitic infections include malaria, babesiosis, Chagas' disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Bacterial infection is the most common form of posttransfusion infection. Management and prevention strategies for these infections are also discussed in the chapter.