The seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies among transfused patients with haematological disorders

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus antibodies (anti- HCV) among transfused patients with haematological disorders. and correlate this with the units of blood or blood products received This was a cross sectional study. Patients with haematological disorders who had received two or more units of blood or blood products and healthy blood donors who had not received blood transfusion were screened for ant-HCV using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits. A total of 480 subjects comprising 146 patients with haematological disorders and 334 blood donor controls were recruited for this study. The patients comprised 78 (53.4%) males and 68 (46.6%) females with age range from 14-65 years and a mean of 39.5. The prevalence of anti-HCV was 6 (4.1%) among transfused patients and 7 (2.1%) among untransfused blood donors. The risk of anti- HCV positivity among patients was higher with increasing units of received blood or blood products. A significant statistical association was observed between the number of pints of blood or blood products received and anti-HCV positivity among patients p=0.008 CONCLUSION: This study suggests that patients who had received blood or blood products are at higher risk of HCV infection than the untransfused individuals. The risk of infection is higher with increasing units of blood or blood products received by transfused patients.