Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C Virus Among Blood Donors in Sukkur

Abstract

Abstract

Objective:  To find sero-preval HBsAg and HCV antibody among healthy blood donors.

Place and Duration:  Blood Transfusion Services, Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College Sukkur from January 2008 to December 2010.

Materials and Methods:  A total of 7085 blood dono-rs were studied during the study period. Among these 99.9% were males and 0.1% were females. During the study period, all the blood donors were screened for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV antibodies. Screening was first done by using rapid immunochromatography kits and then positive cases were tested by ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosor-bant Assay).

Results:  5.137% (n = 364) individuals were positive for HCV antibodies, 3.782% (n = 268) individuals showed positivity for HBsAg and both (HBsAg and anti-HCV) were positive in 0.099% (n = 7).

Conclusion:  It is concluded that HCV and HBV have become major problems in Sukkur like rest of the country and screening blood donors for both HCV and HBV should be done to prevent the disease escalation.

Keywords:  Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Blood Donors, Blood Transfusion.