Transmission of HIV through blood and blood products in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Over90% of recipients of HIV infected blood will seroconvert. In the Region 368 cases were due to transmission through blood or blood products. With establishment of HIV screening facilities, the proportion of AIDS cases due to blood transmission has decreased. AIDS due to blood transmission will continue to occur due to the time lag between the occurrence of HIV infection and appearance of AIDS. HIV seroprevalence among recipients of multiple blood transfusions decreased from 270 per 10 000 in 1987-89 to 7 per 10 000 in 1995. Effective methods are available for prevention of HIV transmission through blood, but antigen and PCR tests are expensive and not recommended for screening of blood donations in developing countries

RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF PREVALENCE OF HIV IN BLOOD DONORS AT A.D.GORWALA BLOOD BANK

Background: India has the second highest HIV population in the world with about 2.5-3.0 million cases. Blood transfusion saves millions of lives worldwide each year but Blood transfusion is an important mode of transmission of infections to recipients and at the same time it is also associated with large number of complications including transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs). Aims & objective: to study the prevalence of HIVin blood donors of A.D.Gorwala Blood bank From January 2005 To December 2010. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among blood donors through the years 2005-2010. Sera from blood donors were tested for the detection of Anti HIV by using third generation ELISA tests, strictly following the instruction of manufacturers. The donor information was collected through the donor registers from A.D. Gorwala Blood Bank. Result: From the total of 28,371 screened blood samples collected, the prevalence of HIV in blood donors in the blood bank was 0.23% in the ve consecutive years but the trend of HIV infection has decreased from 2005(0.31%) to 2010 (0.04%). The age groups18-30 has the highest prevalence and the age group 51-60 was the lowest prevalence of HIV infection. The Prevalence of HIV among male (0.18%) was higher than in female donors (0.05%). The trend of HIVinfection was decreasing for both male and female blood donors. Conclusion: The analysis of HIV seroprevalence among blood donors through the year 2005- 2010 showed a signicantly decreasing trend, probably due to the cumulative effect of increasing awareness of HIVand improved screening system for safe blood donation.

HBV, HCV and HIV Seroprevalence in Syrian Refugee Patient Population Undergoing Preoperative Anaesthetic Assessment: A 10-Year Survey in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital

Objective: Migration can lead to a change in the demographic dynamics of host populations in terms of communicable diseases in destination countries. This is a potential public health challenge for health authorities. HBV and HCV infections can lead to the development of chronic liver diseases, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and HIV infection can lead to the development of serious opportunistic diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate the seroprevalence of HBV, HCV and HIV in Syrian refugees and Turkish patients who were evaluated preoperatively in our hospital. Materials and methods: HBsAg, Anti-HBs, Anti-HBc, Anti-HCV and Anti-HIV results of Syrian refugee and Turkish patients who applied to surgical clinics between 2011-2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The study is comprised of 54446 patients: Turkish patient group (n=20569) and Syrian refugee patient group (n=33877). The Syrian refugee patients had a significantly higher HBsAg seropositivity rate and a significantly lower anti-HBs seropositivity rate than the Turkish patients (p=0.002 and p<0.001, respectively). The anti-HCV and anti-HIV seropositivity rates were similar. The annual preoperative prevalance of HBsAg seropositivity in the Syrian refugee patients tended to significantly decrease gradually from year 2011 to year 2021 (p<0.001 for ≤30 and p=0.001 for >30 years old). Conclusion: As a result, although HBV seroprevalence gradually decreases and HCV and HIV seroprevalence is low; screening, information and treatment programs should be given due importance because of the serious disease potential and preventable conditions with precautions. In addition, preoperative screening of refugee patients coming for major surgery may be important for the safety of healthcare professionals.

Geographical Disparities in HIV Seroprevalence Among Men Who Have Sex with Men and People Who Inject Drugs in Nigeria: Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis

Background The assessment of geographical heterogeneity of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) and people who inject drugs (PWID) can usefully inform targeted HIV prevention and care strategies. Objective We aimed to measure HIV seroprevalence and identify hotspots of HIV infection among MSM and PWID in Nigeria. Methods We included all MSM and PWID accessing HIV testing services across 7 prioritized states (Lagos, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Rivers, Benue, and the Federal Capital Territory) in 3 geographic regions (North Central, South South, and South West) between October 1, 2016, and September 30, 2017. We extracted data from national testing registers, georeferenced all HIV test results aggregated at the local government area level, and calculated HIV seroprevalence. We calculated and compared HIV seroprevalence from our study to the 2014 integrated biological and behavioural surveillance survey and used global spatial autocorrelation and hotspot analysis to highlight patterns of HIV infection and identify areas of significant clustering of HIV cases. Results MSM and PWID had HIV seroprevalence rates of 12.14% (3209/26,423) and 11.88% (1126/9474), respectively. Global spatial autocorrelation Moran I statistics revealed a clustered distribution of HIV infection among MSM and PWID with a <5% and <1% likelihood that this clustered pattern could be due to chance, respectively. Significant clusters of HIV infection (Getis-Ord-Gi* statistics) confined to the North Central and South South regions were identified among MSM and PWID. Compared to the 2014 integrated biological and behavioural surveillance survey, our results suggest an increased HIV seroprevalence among PWID and a substantial decrease among MSM. Conclusions This study identified geographical areas to prioritize for control of HIV infection among MSM and PWID, thus demonstrating that geographical information system technology is a useful tool to inform public health planning for interventions targeting epidemic control of HIV infection.

978. Barriers to Recruitment of Latino Men who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women to Behavioral HIV Seroprevalence Studies

Background Chicago’s HIV epidemic disproportionally affects people of color. Almost a quarter (23%) of these infections occur in Hispanics. It is important to understand sexual behaviors and HIV risk in Latino MSM and transgender women (TGW) to create targeted culturally sensitive harm reduction interventions. However, participation of minority MSM and TGW in survey-based studies is low. The main objective of the study was to understand the sexual health and of Latino MSM and TGW residing in Chicago, Illinois, United States. We herein report subject’s attitudes towards participating in the study and qualitative observations about perceived barriers to enrollment of this population. Methods This study was a cross sectional analysis of a behavioral/HIV seroprevalence survey administered during 2017-2020 to presumed HIV negative, Latino identifying, MSM and TGW individuals. The survey included questions on sexual risk, HIV knowledge and depression scores. We categorized recurrent themes of the most common reasons participants provided for declining to participate in the study. We generated descriptive statistics. Results A total of 48 community organizations assisted with recruitment. Of 149 participants screened, only 18 (12%) agreed to complete the survey. Among those who declined to complete the survey (n=131), the most common reasons given were: participants were uncomfortable answering some questions (n=59, 45.0%), participant’s did not have the time to initiate or complete the survey (n=41, 31.3%) and survey was deemed long (n=16, 12.2%). We categorized barriers to successful recruitment into the following general themes: 1) Participants were unwilling to discuss their sexual history; 2) Participant’s felt uncomfortable taking a rapid oral HIV test; 3) Participant’s lacked transportation; and 3) Participants didn’t have time to complete the survey or thought it was too long. Conclusion Despite extensive community networking, we found barriers to recruitment of high-risk Latino MSM and TGW into an HIV seroprevalence study. Further research is needed to better understand and address these barriers, and thus, increase representation of this key population in prevention studies. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures