Abstract
Blood transfusion is a life saving measure, but also carries risk of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs). In spite of improved donor screening, risk of transmission of TTIs still remains a major concern. Stringent screening of blood not only ensures safe supply of blood and blood products, but also gives us an idea about prevalence of TTIs among general population. Blood donors (voluntary and replacement), fulfilling national and regional blood bank criteria, attended our blood bank, during Jan 2015-Dec 2016 (included). Retrospective data analysis was performed by a structured database. After obtaining informed consent, venous blood was collected and analysed for HBsAg, anti-HCV and Anti-HIV1 and 2 (Chemiluminescent assay -OrthoVitrosECi/ECiQ), Malaria (ICT-pf/pan-Alere) and Syphilis (RPR-Labcare Dignotics). A total of 9027 donors were screened; Males and females were 99.23% and 0.76% respectively with the mean age of 27.4 ± 2 years (19-58 years). Voluntary donors were 68.7%; replacement donors 31.3%. Voluntary donation increased by 3% in 2016 (69.7%) vs 2015 (67.1%). TTI prevalence was 1.12% (102/9027). Surprisingly prevalence was higher among voluntary donors, females and 21-30 years. Seroprevalence of HBV (0.42%), HIV (0.13%), and Malaria (0.01%), in our region was relatively inferior than other parts of country. Nonetheless, HCV (0.56%) infections were on the rise. No syphilis case was reported. Low seropositivity rate is believed to be attributed to improved counselling of blood donors, adherence to standard donor selection criteria and rational use of blood. Even though low prevalence, effective control strategies including stringent screening, implementation of more sensitive tests and health education are urgently needed to prevent those TTIs.
Highlights
Blood transfusion is a life saving measure, and carries risk of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs)
Prevalent TTIs are mainly caused by Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Treponemapallidum and Malaria parasite which may be present in the blood being transfused [1]
A total of 9027 donors were screened for TTIs during the study period; of these 8958 (99.23%) were males and 69 (0.76%) were females with the mean age of 27.4 ± 2 years
Summary
Blood transfusion is a life saving measure, and carries risk of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs). The risk of blood transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) poses a serious public health problem if proper screening of donated blood is not done. Prevalent TTIs are mainly caused by Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Treponemapallidum and Malaria parasite which may be present in the blood being transfused [1]. Various studies have reported high prevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis, which has worsened the problem of blood safety worldwide [2,3,4]. Continuous monitoring of TTIs among the donor is vital for risk assessment, and to minimize disease transmission, optimize donor recruitment strategies, and to know the prevalence of these diseases among blood donors, which reflects the apparent as well as hidden load of these infections in the general population, since blood donors are usually healthy members of the society [5,6,7]
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