DETECTION OF PLASMODIUM PARASITES IN HEALTHY BLOOD DONORS USING POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

Malaria is an important tropical disease in terms of morbidity and mortality. It is difficult to identify hidden contaminated cases through the use of ordinary techniques, such as microscopic methods, in endemic regions. In the present study, two techniques were used to assess the rate of contingent malaria contamination in healthy inhabitants: microscopic study (thin and thick blood smears) and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). One hundred blood samples were collected from healthy individuals who lived in Chabahar, southeastern Iran, in June 2002, during peak mosquito season. Three positive samples (3%) were detected by PCR method, all of which had been reported negative by microscopic examination. It seems that the most appropriate method for populationbased screening of blood donors for malaria parasites could be through the detection of parasite nucleic acids using PCR. Such a strategy would also reduce transfusion-transmitted malaria in endemic areas.