Abstract
There is a paucity of publications on regional variations in seroprevalence of infectious diseases in blood donors within Brazilian states, so that suitable time trends can be derived for major demographic groups. A population study of blood donors in the southern state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, was conducted using all computerized records of the blood donors submitted to serologic screening in 2010. The subjects were predominantly male (57.8%), aged 18-25 years (33.5%), did not direct their donation to any specific recipient (55.6%), nor did they provide another blood donation in last 12 months (58.6%). The highest seroprevalence was observed for the hepatitis B markers (3.0% for anti-HBc and 0.2% for HBsAg), followed by those for syphilis (0, 08% VDRL), HIV-1 (0.06%), hepatitis C (0.05%), HTLV1/2 (0.01%) and Chagas disease (0.01%). The risk factors associated with higher seroprevalence were associated with the first time donation, being male and of older age. Large regional variations were observed, with the Far West region reaching 7% of anti-HBc and 0.5% of HBsAg positive, and the Midwest region showing 0.1% HIV-positive donors. Hepatits B markers of both lifetime and recent infection reached a high level among blood donor candidates in Santa Catarina in 2010 and remain the foremost serological deferral criterion, despite some evidence of the reduced transmission rate compared to the beginning of the decade. The seroprevalence of other sexually transmitted infections (HIV, syphilis) also persisted on a level too high for a blood donor population, implying even higher prevalence in the general population.
Highlights
The importance of blood donor screening rests on its immediate objective to prevent transfusion-transmitted diseases and on the epidemiologic data it provides for the geographic regions where the donors come from
The highest seroprevalence was observed for the hepatitis B markers (3.0% for anti-HBc and 0.2% for HBsAg), followed by those for syphilis (0, 08% VDRL), HIV-1 (0.06%), hepatitis C (0.05%), HTLV1/2 (0.01%) and Chagas disease (0.01%)
Brazilian Ministry of Health (2010a) estimated the hepatitis B prevalence at 7.6 per 100.000 inhabitants in 2009, in contrast with ten to fifty times higher figures based on blood bank seroprevalence found by Kupek (2004), Maresch et al (2008) and de Almeida Neto et al (2013)
Summary
The importance of blood donor screening rests on its immediate objective to prevent transfusion-transmitted diseases and on the epidemiologic data it provides for the geographic regions where the donors come from. Such data do not represent the general population prevalence, they likely serve as its lower bound estimate, given the fact that clinical examination and pre-donation interview screen out many blood donors with infectious diseases’ signs and symptoms, including risky sexual behavior. The problem is exacerbated by large regional variation across the country
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