Live Science recently published an interesting account of a 9-year-old boy who contracted a rare tick-borne disease from the blood transfusion as part of his leukemia treatment.
Finally, a pathologist found the telltale sign of [Ehrlichiosis] bacteria within the boy’s white blood cells. As soon as doctors administered doxycycline, the boy rapidly improved and went home.
Health officials tracked down the donors of the three transfusions, and one of those donors reported frequent tick bites. That donor lived in Florida, and further tests showed the person had antibodies against Ehrlichia bacteria, according to the report. Eight other people had received transfusions from the donor; three died within a few days of unrelated causes, the other five tested negative for Ehrlichia, according to the report.
“The donor had no symptoms — that’s what made it so difficult,” Regan said. Routine lab tests of the donor’s blood appeared normal, although the person reported being bitten by ticks repeatedly, she said.
This is the first confirmed case of Ehrlichiosis being transmitted via blood transfusion. As the Live Science summary notes, the general incidence of Ehrlichiosis appears to be increasing (from 200 cases in 2000 to 740 in 2010) so the rarity could be a function of the general prevalence of the disease itself rather than any particular difficulty in spreading through transfusions.