Soldiers Back From Iraq Told Not to Donate Blood for a Year

ATLANTA — American soldiers returning from Iraq are being told not to give blood for up to one year to prevent the possible spread of a parasite into the U.S. blood supply, federal health officials said Thursday.

The precautionary ban was ordered by the Department of Defense and the nation’s largest association of blood banks following an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis among U.S. soldiers serving in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan.

Leishmaniasis, which is endemic in the Middle East, tropics and some parts of southern Europe, is usually spread by the bite of sand flies. Those infected develop painless skin lesions that can, if left untreated, cause scars.

Visceral leishmaniasis, the more serious form of the disease, can damage internal organs and cause death.

The new blood donor restrictions will apply to soldiers for 12 months after their last day in Iraq, according to a report published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The lengthy deferral is because of the difficulty of detecting the parasite responsible for leishmaniasis, which can incubate for several months and produce no symptoms or only mild illness in those who have been infected.