Transfusion malaria in sick neonates.

Malaria is an uncommon illness during the neonatal period and early infancy. Transplacental barrier, presence of acquired immunity from the mother (in endemic malarious region) and preponderance of fetal hemoglobin are some of the reasons for this observations(l). Post-transfusion malaria is a possibility not only after whole blood transfusion, but also after infusion of components such as platelet, leukocyte concentrates or cryoprecipitate. In neonates and infants who have contracted the infection this way, it can be quite severe or even fatal. This may be in part due to delayed diagnosis or it may have further complicated a serious underlying disorder, or poor general condition. Here we report three cases of malaria in infants who had received blood transfusion during the neonatal period.