Could a Lyme disease blood transfusion transmit infection? While the tick-borne disease Babesia is known to spread through blood transfusions, the risk with Lyme disease remains theoretical — but worth considering.
Studies have found Borrelia burgdorferi in the blood of patients with early Lyme disease using culture tests.
“Borrelia are likely to be found circulating in the blood sporadically or they may persist for a time period ranging from 2 to 5 weeks and in some cases beyond this time frame,” writes Pavia, citing a 2001 study by Wormser and colleagues.
Could Asymptomatic Donors Transmit Lyme Disease?
It is unlikely that an individual will donate blood if they have had a tick bite, erythema migrans (EM) rash or were ill, the author writes. But there could be donors who are unaware they have Lyme disease. They may not have seen a tick bite or EM rash and may be asymptomatic and not exhibiting any symptoms of the disease. This, in turn, would pose a theoretical risk.
After all, researchers have shown that it is possible to transmit B. burgdorferi spirochete in mice.
“B. burgdorferi can be transferred from spirochetemic donor mice to naive recipients during an experimental blood transfusion that closely mimicked typical human blood transfusion procedures,” according to a study by Gabitzsch.
Investigators, however, do not know if transmission can occur if the blood is stored under blood-storage conditions.
Other Borrelia Species and Blood Transfusion Risk
Furthermore, another Borrelia species, B. recurrentis has been shown to cause transfusion-associated relapsing fever, the authors point out. And these microorganisms share several common elements.
It is also possible to transmit via transfusion the tick-borne pathogen Borrelia miyamotoi.
“Borrelia miyamotoi was able to survive and infect mice after being kept under standard storage conditions with human blood or most of its component parts, suggesting that transmission by blood transfusion of this pathogen was possible,” explains Thorp.
Should Blood Banks Screen for Lyme Disease?
Additional studies are needed to determine the risks and reassess the blood bank criteria.
“It is necessary to consider determining what the optimal criteria and policies should be, such as the appropriate use of approved diagnostic methods, for monitoring blood products for possible contamination with the Lyme disease spirochete, especially in geographic areas in which B. burgdorferi infection and other related tick-borne diseases are endemic,” Pavia writes.
While Lyme disease blood transfusion transmission remains unproven in humans, the theoretical risk warrants ongoing research and vigilance — especially as tick-borne diseases continue to spread.
References
- Pavia CS, Plummer MM. Transfusion-Associated Lyme Disease – Although Unlikely, It Is Still a Concern Worth Considering. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:2070.
- Wormser GP, Bittker S, Cooper D, Nowakowski J, Nadelman RB, Pavia C. Yield of large-volume blood cultures in patients with early Lyme disease. J Infect Dis. 2001;184(8):1070-1072.
- Gabitzsch ES, Piesman J, Dolan MC, Sykes CM, Zeidner NS. Transfer of Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. infection via blood transfusion in a murine model. J Parasitol. 2006;92(4):869-870.
- Thorp AM, Tonnetti L. Distribution and survival of Borrelia miyamotoi in human blood components. Transfusion. 2016;56(3):705-711.
“It is unlikely that an individual will donate blood if they have had a tick bite, erythema migrans (EM) rash or were ill, the author writes” They MUST be kidding, right??? How many of us went years/decades being told that there was NOTHING wrong with us, so we did our best to live our lives as if that were true – including donating blood, being on organ transplant lists and more. I happen to know that I’m not the only one that donated blood, or had that I was an organ donor before it was confirmed I had these infections.
The authors of this paper have raised an important question as the the potential risk. They are not discussing specific cases. Their paper lays down the foundation for further study.
prof prem raj pushpakaran writes — 2018 marks the 200 years since the first human-to-human blood transfusion!!
I had over $130,000.00 of plasma in the hospital. After two weeks out of the hospital I got Alpha Gal. People can say what they want but I will always believe it came from the plasma.
would transfused blood containing borrellia burgdorf show in skin first day post op
I have not seen a skin rash for Lyme disease after a transfusion. I have seen individuals who a recent infection who did not show an infection until after a procedure.