The Role of Hepatitis B Core Antibody Testing in Improving Blood Safety in Resource-Limited Countries Study on Voluntary Blood Donors Fayoum, Egypt

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a transfusion-transmissible pathogen that poses a significant threat to blood safety. The virus' burden is high in the general population and among blood donors in Sub-Saharan Africa, leading to more donor rejection; blood discards, and increased risk of contamination of the blood supply. Hepatitis B Virus is vaccine-preventable; increased burden of infection may suggest a gap in vaccination. The study aimed to assess the level of hepatitis B virus vaccine uptake and identify factors affecting uptake of the vaccine among voluntary non remunerated blood donors (VNRBD) in Jos, Nigeria. A survey was conducted at the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), Jos, among consenting VNRBD aged between 18 and 65 years from October to December 2020 using a structured questionnaire to collect information on vaccination status, socio-demographics and others. Of the 120 VNRBD interviewed, 36.7% received one or more doses of the HBV vaccine, while the majority (63.3%) were unvaccinated. Among the unvaccinated donors, 57.9% were unaware that HBV has a vaccine, 21.1% did not know where to get the vaccine, 7.9% had no time to get vaccinated; 3.9 % believed that there was no need to get vaccinated because they tested negative for the virus, while 9.2% gave no reason. Our study found a low uptake of HBV vaccine among VNRBD in our environment. We advocate for increased awareness and strong legislation to ensure universal access to the vaccine by Nigerians.

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Safety of blood supply in the Caribbean countries: Role of screening blood donors for markers of hepatitis B and C viruses

Journal of Clinical Virology ◽

10.1016/s1386-6532(05)80038-1 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. S75-S80 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jose R. Cruz ◽

Maria Dolores Pérez-Rosales ◽

Fabio Zicker ◽

Gabriel A Schmunis

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis B ◽

Blood Supply ◽

Blood Donors ◽

The Caribbean

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Hepatitis B infections among blood donors in England between 2009 and 2018: Is an occult hepatitis B infection a risk for blood safety?

Transfusion ◽

10.1111/trf.16543 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Heli Harvala ◽

Claire Reynolds ◽

Zoë Gibney ◽

Jade Derrick ◽

Samreen Ijaz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis B ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Hepatitis B Infection ◽

Blood Safety ◽

Occult Hepatitis ◽

Occult Hepatitis B

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Assessment of hepatitis B surface antigen negative blood units for HBV DNA among replacement blood donors in a hospital based blood bank in Nigeria

African Health Sciences ◽

10.4314/ahs.v21i3.22 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 1141-1147

Author(s):

Foluke Atinuke Fasola ◽

Adeola Fowotade ◽

Adedayo Faneye

Keyword(s):

Viral Load ◽

Hepatitis B Virus ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Surface Antigen ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Hepatitis B Surface Antigen ◽

Hbv Dna ◽

Blood Safety ◽

Infected Blood ◽

B Virus

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is one of the greatest threats to blood safety all over the world. The laboratory algorithm based on only the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) leaves a gap for infected HBsAg negative donors to donate blood during the “window period” (WP) and late stages of infection. Objective: To estimate the frequency of the presence of HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in HBsAg negative blood units screened using two different assays for HBsAg in a high endemic region. Methods: Frozen serum aliquot of 100 replacement blood donors who donated blood units that were HBsAg negative were retrieved and tested for HBV DNA. Sample positive for HBV DNA was sequenced by Sanger’s method, genotyped and the viral load was determined. Results: One sample (1%) was positive for HBV DNA. The HBV viral load of the sample was 768,000 IU/ml. The partial S-gene of the Hepatitis B virus isolated was genotype E using the NCBI viral genotyping tool. Conclusions: There is still a risk of HBV infected blood unit escaping detection when donor testing is limited to HBsAg screening. The use of NAT which can substantially reduce HBV infected blood donors from the donor pool should be considered. Keywords: Hepatitis B surface Antigen; Hepatitis B Virus; DNA; blood donors; blood safety.

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High Rates of Hepatitis B and C and HIV Infections among Blood Donors in Cameroon: A Proposed Blood Screening Algorithm for Blood Donors in Resource-Limited Settings

Journal of Blood Transfusion ◽

10.1155/2012/458372 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Florent Fouelifack Ymele ◽

Basile Keugoung ◽

Jeanne Hortense Fouedjio ◽

Nadege Kouam ◽

Sandrine Mendibi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis B ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Hiv Infections ◽

Blood Collection ◽

Infected Blood ◽

Resource Limited ◽

Screening Algorithm ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Rapid Tests ◽

Hcv Coinfection

Background. Infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are currently major public health problems. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted from January to June 2008 at the Blood Bank of the Central Hospital, Yaoundé (Cameroon). The objective was to study the prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV and their coinfections among blood donors. Results. A total of 4650 donors were identified, and the sex ratio (male/female) was 14/1. The median age of donors was 28 years (range: 16 to 69 years). Among blood donors, HBV, HIV, and HCV infection prevalences were 12.14% (n=565) , 4.44% (n=206), and 1.44% (n=67), respectively. Coinfection with HIV and HBV was observed among 0.77% donors, followed by hepatitis B and C co-infection (0.21%) and HIV and HCV coinfection (0.06%). Co-infection with HIV-HBV-HCV was encountered in 2 donors. The HIV, HBV, and HCV infections lead to a destruction of one out of six sets of blood collected. Conclusion. There is a need to review policies for blood collection from donors, by modifying the algorithm of blood donors testing. Pretesting potential donors using rapid tests could help to avoid collection and destruction of (infected) blood.

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Positivity of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C in patients enrolled in a confidential self-exclusion system of blood donation: a cross-sectional analytical study

Sao Paulo Medical Journal ◽

10.1590/s1516-31802010000600002 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 128 (6) ◽

pp. 320-323 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Leila Kasraian ◽

Alireza Tavasoli

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis C ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Blood Donation ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Screening Tests ◽

Blood Safety ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Hiv Antibodies ◽

Hcv Screening

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Selection of healthy blood donors is essential to ensure blood safety. A confidential self-exclusion (CSE) system was designed so that high-risk donors could confidentially exclude their blood from use in transfusions. This study aimed to compare the demographic characteristics and the results from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B surface (HBS) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening tests on donors who opted to get into and out of CSE. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analytical cross-sectional study on all volunteer donors at Shiraz Blood Transfusion Organization from March 21, 2006, to March 21, 2008. METHODS: The results from the abovementioned tests were compared between donors who opted into and out of CSE. RESULTS: 100,148 donors in 2006 and 104,271 in 2007 gave blood. Among these donors, respectively, 829 (0.82%) and 592 (0.57%) opted for the CSE. The prevalence of HIV antibodies, HBS antigens and HCV antibodies in CSE donors was significantly higher than in donors who did not choose CSE (p < 0.05). The prevalence of at least one of these three infections among CSE donors was 3.12% in 2006 and 3.04% in 2007, and was significantly higher than the prevalence among non-CSE donors (0.58% and 0.57%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Because of the higher prevalence of HBS, HCV and HIV positivity in blood donors who chose the CSE option, offering CSE to blood donors could be a potentially useful method for improving blood safety, since it could increase the detection of infected blood during the window period.

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