Viral Hepatitides among the Blood
Donors in a Rural Based Hospital:
A Five Year Study
619-622
Correspondence
Subhashish Das C/o Dr. Kalyani R. MD
P.C. Extension, Kolar, Karnataka, India - 563101.
Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) are important transfusion-transmissible infections. This study was performed for the assessment of the prevalence of HBV and HCV sero positivity among the blood donors at a tertiary care hospital- based blood bank which is located in rural southern India.
Study Design and Methods: The blood donation records over a period of 5 years which ranged from 2006-2010 were reviewed retrospectively, for the prevalence and the yearly trends of HBV and HCV sero positivity.
Results: A total of 25,341 donations were received .The overall number of the Hb- sero-positivedonations was 233 and that for HCV was 55. The prevalence rates of 0.92% and 0.22% were noted for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and for HCV respectively. The sero positivity rate was higher in the replacement donors as compared to that in the voluntary donors.
Conclusions: Stringent measures need to be taken, including the dissemination of information, strict screening of blood, inclusion of the antibody to the hepatitis B core antigen and other sensitive markers for the screening protocol, and better donor recruitment.