TRENDS IN THE SEROPREVALENCE OF TRANSFUSION–TRANSMISSIBLE INFECTIONS (TTIS) AMONG POTENTIAL BLOOD DONORS IN A TERTIARY HEALTH FACILITY IN SOUTH–SOUTH NIGERIA

Akpan, IS* and Ino-Ekanem, M B

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives Transfusion – transmissible infections still pose a formidable threat to blood transfusion safety in Sub-Saharan Africa owing to the endemicity of these infections in the region. Blood donors can be a source of persistent transmission of the infections. This study was conducted to determine the trends and seroprevalence of TTIs amongst prospective donors. Materials and methods: The screening records of prospective donors from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015 were reviewed with respect to screening outcome for HIV, HBsAg, HCV and Syphilis; age and sex of the donors were also identified. Rapid test kits were used for all screening. All the reactive samples were confirmed using enzyme – linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: A total of 12, 693 prospective blood donors were screened over a 4-year period (2012 – 2015) of which 457 (3.7%), 339(2.7%), 284(2.3%), and 176(1.4%) were positive for HIV, HBsAg, HCV, and Syphilis, respectively. The overall prevalence of TTIs in this study was 10.1%. It declined from 10.7% in 2012 to 10.3% in 2013 but rose slightly to 10.4% in 2014 and reduced to 8.9% in 2015. The infections were more prevalent in males compared to females. The highest HIV, HCV and Syphilis seroprevalence rates were observed among donors aged 36 – 45 years, while for HBsAg, the rate was highest among donors between 26 and 35 years of age. The prevalence of the infections among different age groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These results show that TTIs are not uncommon in our blood donors. Thus, there is the urgent need to educate the blood donors on avoiding risky lifestyles while also intensifying voluntary blood donor motivation strategies and increase community surveillance of the infections.

Keywords: Transfusion – transmissible infections, prospective blood donors, HIV, HBsAg, HCV, Syphilis.