Frequency of hepatitis B and C virus among the healthyblood donors, a single centre study

Objective: To determine the frequency of hepatitis B and C virus among the healthy blood donors

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Study Design: Cross sectional study

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Place and Duration of study: This was carried out at Pakistan Air Force [PAF] Hospital Islamabad from January 2015 to April 2017

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Patients and Methods: The blood donors were both male and female came from Islamabad and surroundings. A detailed medical history and examination was carried out by medical officer. All donors were provided questionnaire and consent Performa. The blood donors negative for previous history of viral hepatitis and other contraindications for blood donation were included in study. All donations were screened for HBV surface antigen [HBsAg] and anti-HCV antibodies by ELISA

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Results: A total of 2185 healthy blood donors were enrolled. Out of them, 2137 [97.8%] were male and 48[2.2%] were female. In female donors, HBsAg was negative in all donors and anti-HCV antibodies was positive in 2[4.16%]. Whereas, in males HBsAg was positive in 34[1.59%] and anti-HCV antibodies was positive in 81[3.79%]

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Conclusion: The prevalence of HCV among blood donors was high as compared to HBV. Hepatitis B and C are one of major sources of transfusion transmitted diseases. Prevention of transfusion transmitted diseases is possible with vigilant donor selection and strict screening process