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Persons with early syphilis identified through blood or plasma donation screening in the United States.
Journal of Infectious Diseases 2002;185:545-549.
Gardella C, Marfin AA, Kahn RH, Swint E, Markowitz
LE.
Abstract
The number of persons with early syphilis who donated blood between 1995 and
2000 in the United States was estimated using data collected in the National
Electronic Telecommunication System for Surveillance (NETSS). To distinguish
paid from volunteer donors, cases reported in 2000 were analyzed. For the
6 years, 22 primary, 81 secondary, and 413 early latent syphilis cases were
identified through donation screening. In 2000, 69 cases of early syphilis
were identified through donation screening in 16 states. In 6 states that
reported 53 of these cases, 31 case subjects (58%) were volunteer donors
and 22 (42%) were paid donors. Eighty-one percent of volunteer donors and
64% of paid donors reported no risk factors for syphilis. After adjustment
for variation in NETSS use, it was estimated that, over the 6 years, approximately
1200 cases of early syphilis were detected nationally through donation screening,
and 58% of the case subjects were volunteer donors.