Occurrence ofLeishmania infantumParasitemia in Asymptomatic Blood Donors Living in an Area of Endemicity in Southern France

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Abstract
Visceral leishmaniosis (VL) due toLeishmania infantum(L. chagasi) is a lethal disease if untreated, but asymptomaticL. infantuminfections have been reported previously. A better understanding of parasite transmission, dissemination, and survival in the human host is needed. The purpose of this study was to assess whetherL. infantumcirculated in peripheral blood of subjects with no history of VL. Sera from 565 blood donors were screened by Western blotting to detectLeishmania-specific antibodies and identify individuals with probable past exposure toLeishmania. Seropositivity was found in 76 donors whose buffy coats were examined by PCR and direct culture. The parasite minicircle kinetoplast DNA was amplified from blood samples of nine donors. Promastigotes were detected by culture in blood samples from nine donors. Only two donors were PCR and culture positive. These results indicate thatL. infantumcirculates intermittently and at low density in the blood of healthy seropositive individuals, who thus appear to be asymptomatic carriers. Implications for the safety of blood transfusion are discussed.