The Mirasol Evaluation of Reduction in Infections Trial (MERIT): study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial

Table 1 Transfusion-transmitted infections in Uganda among blood donors. The table provides the prevalence of TTIs contributing to our primary endpoint in donated blood, sensitivity of screening methods (when used in Uganda), risk of a TTI given exposure to infected blood (i.e., infectivity), and the expected number of infections per 1000 transfused participants

Agent	Donor prevalence (%)	Screening method sensitivity (%)	Infectious units/1000 units of blood	Infectivity (%)	Expected number of infections/1000 transfused individuals+
HIV^#	0.71	98	0.14	100	0.2
HBV^#	2.41	98	0.48	75	0.5
HCV^#	1.76	98	0.35	74	0.4
HEV*	0.6	No screening	6	75	6.8
HHV-8^	36.0	No screening	360	2.3	12.4
Malaria^∞	5.0	No screening	50	20	15.0
Bacteria^≡	1.5	No screening	15	50	11.3

^#Seroprevalence data from Uganda Blood Transfusion Service in Kampala, Uganda, between April and June 2017
*HEV seroprevalence in Uganda is 47% [38]. However, RNA positivity with acute infection is ~ 0.6% [6]. Acute infection is most common among individuals in late adolescence, the primary blood donor age [39]
^HHV-8 seroprevalence in Uganda among late adolescence (primary blood donor age) is 36% [40]. The prevalence among recipients is ~ 50% [5]. There is an excess risk of HHV-8 seroconversion of 2.3% when transfused HHV-8 positive blood [5]
^∞Malaria donor prevalence of 5% is a conservative estimate from data in Uganda [41]
^≡Bacterial contamination prevalence derived from previous [42] and ongoing studies in Uganda of blood donors
+Expected number of infections in a population with no prior immunity

ISSN: 1745-6215