Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C Virus and Occult Hepatitis B among Blood Donors at National Blood Bank, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Creators: name: Petros, Misgana
Publisher: name: National Academic Digital Repository of Ethiopia
Year: 2017

description: Background: Transfusion associated hepatitis B and C viral infection continues to be a major problem in developing countries, even after the adoption of mandatory screening for HBsAg by ELISA method. This is mainly because of the blood from the donors with 'occult' HBV infection which is defined as viral DNA without detectable HBsAg observed after the initial period of primary infection and most of the time accompanied by the presence of anti-HBc. Objective: To assess Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Hepatitis B and C Virus and Screening of Occult Hepatitis B among Blood Donors at National Blood Bank, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2977 volunteer blood donors from April to Jun 2017. All donors' blood were screened for HBV and HCV with ELISA technique. For occult HBV, 391 blood samples which were found to be negative for all transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) (for HIV, HCV, HBV and Syphilis) were taken and analyzed for anti-Hepatitis B core total (IgG and IgM) using Architect Chemiluminecent Micro particle Immunoassay (CMIA) technique. Socio demographic and associated risk factors were gathered using predesigned questions. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to quantify the effect of different risk factors on hepatitis B and C infections. P values &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant. Data was analyzed using SPSS v.23. Result: Of 2977 donors tested for HBV and HCV, 2.3 %( n=69/2977) and 1.2 %( 36/2977) were found to be positive for HBsAg and anti-HCV respectively while 0.23 %( 7/2977) of them showed dual infection. First time donation (AOR=0.21; 95% CI=0.15-1.21) (p&lt;0.001) , Age between 36-45 (AOR=2.96; 95% CI=1.17-7.0) (p=0.021), contact to multiple sexual partners (AOR=, 0.07, CI= 0.02-0.29) (p&lt;0.001) for Hepatitis B virus and sharing of sharp materials/scarification tattoos (AOR=0.13, CI=0.03-0.47,) (p=0.002) for HCV has shown statistical significant association. The prevalence of Anti-HBc (IgG and IgM) was found to be 14.6 %( n=57/391) and among this 22.8 %( n=13/57) were multiple time donors. History of transfusion (AOR=, 0.07, CI= (0.03-0.14) (p&lt;0.001) and previous surgical procedures (AOR=, 0.08, CI= (0.01-0.52) (p=0.003) have shown statistical significant association with Anti-HBc positivity. Conclusion: In this study, intermediate prevalence rate of HBV and low rate of HCV was found as per world health organization interpretation. Community based education should be planned regarding risk factors associated with these infections and modes of transmissions. Significant prevalence rate of anti HBC positivity was also determined. Since analyzing all HBsAg negative samples for nucleic acid test (PCR) is not practical economically in the country, incorporation of routine anti-HBc screening of blood as a surrogate marker of occult HBV is recommended to provide safe and healthy blood transfusion.