Seroprevalence and Trend of Transfusion Transmissible Infections (TTIS) Among Blood Donors At A Teaching Hospital In Abuja, Nigeria: A Five Years’ Review

Questionable quality of blood and blood components for clinical use pose great risks to patients who need transfusion. There is limited information on the seroprevalence of transfusion transmissible infections among blood donors in the Federal Capital Territory. This retrospective descriptive study determined the seroprevalence and trend of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B and C viruses, and syphilis infection serological markers among blood donors at the Blood Bank unit of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria.This baseline data provides one of the essential information required for monitoring and evaluation of the safety of blood and blood components for clinical use. Materials and Methods: Rapid test strips were used to screen all prospective blood donors for HIV 1/2 antibodies, HBsAg, HCV antibodies, and Syphilis respectively. Data abstracted from blood donor register at the UATH blood bank included HIV 1/2 antibodies, HBsAg, anti-HCV antibodies, and Syphilis screening tests results; age; sex; and blood donation type from 1 st , January, 2014 – 31 st , December, 2018. Data analysed with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) vs 26 and Microsoft Excel 16. Chi-square test was used for comparison and p value< 0.05, 95% CI wasconsidered statistically significant. Results: A total of 26,712 blood donors were screened for TTIs, 25,139 (94.11%) of them were males and 1,573 (5.89%) females, with blood donors’ mean age of 32.3 years (range 16 – 65 years). Majority 25,534 (95.59%) were family replacement blood donors (FREPBDs) and 1,178 (4.41%) voluntary non-remunerated blood donors (VNRBDs). The overall seroprevalence rates of TTIs and TTI coinfections among blood donors in this study was 11.88% and 1.02% respectively, statistically significant declining trend was noted in TTIs seroprevalence rates from 14.94% to 10.03% (p < 0.05%, 95% Cl) in 2014to 2018 respectively.Conclusion: The study revealed a high seroprevalence of TTIs and TTI coinfections, which is consistent with reported findings among high risks blood donor groups like FREBDs (95.80% in our study) and paid donors (p < 0.05, 95% Cl) and the declining trend in TTIs seroprevalence rates during the study period.