Seroprevalence and diagnosis of HIV, HBV, HCV and syphilis infections among blood donors

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Tafesse, Tadesse Bekele^a | Gebru, Addis Adera^{b; *} | Gobalee, Semgne^a | Belay, Gosaye Degu^c | Belew, Molla Teferi^d | Ataro, Demelash^e | Ebrahim, Belay Ali^f | Shebeshi, Getachew Mekonnon^g | Yimam, Yonas^h

Affiliations: [a] School of Pharmacy, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia | [b] Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia | [c] Department of Disasters and Emergency Health, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | [d] Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia | [e] Department Emergency Medicine, Head of Emergency Unit and Coordinator of Emergency Unit, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia | [f] Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Samara University, Samara, Ethiopia | [g] Amhara Regional Health Office, North Wollo Zone Health Department, Harbu District, Woldia, Ethiopia | [h] Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural & Computational Sciences, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Addis Adera Gebru, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia. E-mail:emebete21addis@gmail.com

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Blood transfusion is one of the most important therapeutic options of life-saving intervention for recipients who are in diseased or non-diseased conditions with severe blood loss. However, it is associated with certain risks which can lead to adverse consequences that may cause acute or delayed complications and bring the risk of transfusion-transmissible infections including HIV, Hepatitis B & C and Syphilis. So, there might be a fatal risk instead of life saving. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive and reliable tabulation of available data on seroprevalence and diagnosis of HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis infections among blood donors. METHODS: We searched studies reporting the prevalence rate of HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis infections among blood donors that were published between October 2009 and June 2016, using databases of PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, EBSCO, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and Web of Science with keywords: ``Hepatitis C Virus'', ``Hepatitis B Virus'', ``HIV'', ``Syphilis'', ``Seroprevalence'', and ``blood donor''. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of HBV and HCV was highest in African countries as compared to others continents, predominantly the West African region with a range of 10.0% to 14.96% and 1.5% to 8.69%, respectively, while the overall seropositivity of HIV and syphilis infection show a significant declining pattern through successive years globally, even though relatively higher prevalence rate was observed among older age and those with low level of education. CONCLUSION: There is a problem during selection, diagnoses and screening process in developing nations primarily due to shortage of sensitive screening test kits, highly qualified human resource and lack of proper standard operating procedures and hence, the safety of blood and blood products are the primary threats in the region. Proper clinical diagnosis and screening method should be applied during blood donation and therefore, all the donated blood should be screened properly for transfusion-transmitted infections.

Keywords: Blood donor, Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, HIV, seroprevalence, syphilis: Transfusion-transmissible, infections

DOI: 10.3233/HAB-160304

Journal: Human Antibodies, vol. 25, no. 1-2, pp. 39-55, 2017