Bacterial Contaminants in Stored Blood and Blood Products at Zomba Central Hospital Blood Bank: Assessing the Possible Risk of Post-Transfusion Sepsis in a Resource-Limited Setting
DOI: doi-org-10-51374-annalsmls-2024-3-1-0004
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Abstract
Background: National Blood Transfusion Services have done a commendable job in reducing transfusion-related fatalities from viral, Syphilis, and Malaria infections through the vigilant screening of blood donors and donated blood. Transfusion of bacterially contaminated blood and blood products remains the commonest cause of transfusion-associated fatalities, but it remains unaddressed in resourcelimited countries. Without hemovigilance programs in countries like Malawi, upto-date knowledge of the prevalence and causes of bacterial contamination of blood products is necessary to ensure safe blood transfusion. This study investigated the rate and spectrum of bacterial contaminants in stored blood and blood at the Zomba Central Hospital from October to November 2022.
Methods: 115 blood products (Whole Blood, Packed Red Blood Cells, and Platelets) were randomly and aseptically collected into Tryptic Soy Broth and then incubated for 7 days. After overnight incubation, all samples were subcultured onto Blood
Agar, Chocolate Agar, and MacConkey Agar. Colony morphology, gram staining reactivity, and biochemical tests were used to identify the isolated organisms. The data was analyzed using correlation and regression statistics, and results with p ≤
0.05 were considered significant. Findings: Of the 115 samples, 21 (18.3%) were contaminated with gram-positive bacteria. The contaminants were Bacillus spp (33.33%), Listeria spp (33.33%), Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (19.05%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.52%), and Enterococcus spp (4.76%). 90.5% of all the contaminated products had exceeded 2 storage weeks.
Conclusion: Bacterial contamination of stored blood products is common at the study site. This study emphasizes the need to implement hemovigilance projects to reduce the risk of post-transfusion sepsis in resource-limited settings.
Keywords: Bacterial contamination, sepsis, transfusion-transmitted infection, blood transfusion.