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Decrease in hepatitis B prevalence among blood donors in Central-West Brazil

Authors:
Andréa de Siqueira Campos Lindenberg at Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul
Andréa de Siqueira Campos Lindenberg
Ana Rita Coimbra Motta-Castro at Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul and FIOCRUZ-MS and Fiocruz-Mato Grosso do Sul
Ana Rita Coimbra Motta-Castro
  • Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul and FIOCRUZ-MS and Fiocruz-Mato Grosso do Sul
Marco Antonio Puga at Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul
Marco Antonio Puga
Tayana Tanaka at Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul
Tayana Tanaka
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Abstract and Figures

The aim of the present study was to estimate hepatitis B virus seroprevalence among first-time blood donors in the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul State, in the central-western region of Brazil. A retrospective analysis of first-time voluntary blood donor records, from January 2010 to December 2010, was conducted at the Hematology Center of Mato Grosso do Sul. The prevalence of the HBsAg and anti-HBc serological markers and their respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Chi-square analysis was performed between the seroprevalence previously found in 2001 and the one determined by the current study. Results were considered statistically significant if p < 0.05. Among 8,840 subjects, 269 (3.04%, 95% CI: 2.7-3.4) were positive for HBV markers. The prevalence rate of HBsAg was 0.19% (95% CI: 0.1-0.3) and anti-HBc alone was 2.85% (95% CI: 2.5-3.2). There was no statistically significant difference regarding gender. However, an important association was observed between HBV infection and older age (p < 0.01). The seroprevalence of HBV infection in first-time blood donors diminished from 2001 to 2010 (p < 0.01). Such decrease suggests an improvement in the recruitment of safe donors, the positive impact of vaccination programs and the decreasing of HBV infection prevalence in the general population.
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SHORT REPO R T Open Access
Decrease in hepatitis B prevalence among blood
donors in Central-West Brazil
Andréa de Siqueira Campos Lindenberg
1
, Ana Rita Coimbra Motta-Castro
1
, Marco Antonio Puga
1
,
Tayana Serpa Ortiz Tanaka
1
, Marina Sawada Torres
2
, Sonia Maria Fernandes-Fitts
1*
and Rivaldo Venancio Cunha
1
Abstract
Background: The aim of the present study was to estimate hepatitis B virus seroprevalence among first-time blood
donors in the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul State, in the central-western region of Brazil.
Findings: A retrospective analysis of first-time voluntary blood donor records, from January 2010 to December
2010, was conducted at the Hematology Center of Mato Grosso do Sul. The prevalence of the HBsAg and anti-HBc
serological markers and their respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Chi-square analysis was
performed between the seroprevalence previously found in 2001 and the one determined by the current study.
Results were considered statistically significant if p < 0.05. Among 8,840 subjects, 269 (3.04%, 95% CI: 2.7-3.4) were
positive for HBV markers. The prevalence rate of HBsAg was 0.19% (95% CI: 0.1-0.3) and anti-HBc alone was 2.85%
(95% CI: 2.5-3.2).
Conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference regarding gender. However, an important association
was observed between HBV infection and older age (p < 0.01). The seroprevalence of HBV infe ction in first-time
blood donors diminished from 2001 to 2010 (p < 0.01). Such decrease suggests an improvement in the recruitment
of safe donors, the positive impact of vaccination programs and the decreasing of HBV infection prevalence in the
general population.
Keywords: Hepatitis B virus, Prevalence, Blood donors
Findings
Hepatitis B is one of the most common infectious di-
seases throughout the globe and has infected two billion
people, including an estimated 350 million chronically
infected cases [1,2].
Parenteral exposure has been shown to be associated
with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infe ction. Blood transfu-
sions carry the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections
such as hepatitis B and C. In order to measure their se-
verity, the World Health Organization has recommen-
ded a pre-transfusion blood test. The residual risk of
infection from HBV is higher than that of hepatitis C
virus (HCV) in non-endemic countries [3].
In 1971, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) test was
introduced for screening blood donors, and after 1986,
antibody tests to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc)
were implemented to further reduce the risk of infec-
tious agents in the blood supply [4].
The prevalence of infection in the general population
varies in different regions of the world. Although Brazil
is considered a low endemic country, there are areas that
are highly endemic for HBV in the Amazon region [5].
In Brazil, among blood donors, the prevalence ranges
from 0.3% to 1.5% for HBsAg and from 3.7% to 11.1%
for anti-HBc [4,6,7].
The aim of the present study was to estimate the sero-
prevalence of HBV infection among first-time blood do-
nors in the city of Campo Grande, the capital city of the
state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in the central-western re-
gion of Brazil.
A retrospective analysis of blood donor data from
January 2010 to De cember 2010 was conducted in the
Hematology Center of Mato Grosso do Sul (HEMOSUL).
People who attended the center voluntarily for their first
blood donation were sele cted by the standard criteria
for healthy blood donors after answering a standardized
* Correspondence: sonia.fernandes@ufms.br
1
Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do
Sul State, Brazil
Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
© 2013 Lindenberg et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Lindenberg et al. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2013, 19:7
http://www.jvat.org/content/19/1/7
questionnaire to evaluate epidemiological data. First-time
blood donor was defined as a donor who donated for the
first and only time. The protocol used in the present study
was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Federal
University of Mato Grosso do Sul.
Blood donor samples were screened for the presence
of HBsAg and total anti-HBc by enzyme-linked immu-
nosorbent assays (ELISA) (bioMérieux, Netherla nds).
Positive samples were retested using the same serolo-
gical assay.
The prevalence of the HBsAg and anti-HBc serological
markers and their respective 95% confidence intervals
(95% CI) were determ ined. Chi-square analysis was per-
formed between the seroprevalence published in 2001
and seroprevalence found in this study (2010) and was
considered statistically significant if p < 0.05.
A total of 8,840 first-time blood donors aged between
18 to 65 years, who were considered healthy individuals
and eligible for blood donation, participated in this
study. The majority of individuals were males (60.6%,
n = 5,358) between 18 and 39 years old (81.2%,
n = 7,074), representing typical characteristics of blood
donors in Brazil. Among the 8,840 subjects, 269 (3.04%,
95% CI: 2.7-3.4) were positive for HBV markers. The
prevalence rate of HBsAg was 0.19% (95% CI: 0.1-0.3)
and anti-HBc alone was 2.85% (95% CI: 2.5-3.2). There
was no statistically significant difference with respect to
gender. A significant association was observed between
HBV infection and older age (p < 0.01) (Table 1).
As shown in Table 2, the seroprevalence of HBV infec-
tion in first-time blood donors was reduced significantly
from 2001 to 2010 (p < 0.01).
Despite the de creasing of the global HBV infection,
the use of serological markers for blood donor screen-
ings is still important, since HBV remains a great risk
for blood transfusion patients [3,8]. In this study, the
prevalence of HBV infection was 3.04% (95% CI: 2.7-3.4)
and 0.19% (95% CI: 0.1-0.3) for total anti-HBc and HBsAg,
respectively, suggesting the presence of HBV infection in
first-time blood donors. However, this is a significant drop
compared to 9.42% for total anti-HBc and 0.72% for
HBsAg prevalence rate reported by Aguiar et al. [9].
Considering that HBV infection prevalence in blood
donors depends on several factors, including the pre-
valence of the virus in the general population and the
sensitivity of screening test s, it is reasonable to assume
that the observed decline may have been due to the im-
plementation of safety measures. Particularly because
the screening tests used over the past decade were of
similar sensitivity and performed in the same laboratory
(Hemorrede Laboratory of Mato Grosso do Sul) with
similar technical capabilities.
The cause of such declined rates is multifactorial and
most likely due to the increa se in vaccination programs
conducted in the general population, implementation of
a national strategy for blood safety and better data qua-
lity. Although over the past few years several studies
have shown a decreasing trend of HBV seroprevalence
among blood donors, others have found opposite result s
[10-16]. According to Niederhauser [17], immunization
campaigns are efficient in reducing the risk of transfusion-
transmitted HBV.
During the last four decades, blood donor profiles
have changed as a result of the implementation of HBV
screening, which has steadily reduced the risk of trans-
mitting the virus through blood transfusion [18]. More-
over, there is a cumulative effect of increasing public
health awareness [19]. In the population-based multicen-
tric survey of hepatitis B infection in central-west Brazil,
the prevalence of HBV rates cla ssify the region as low
endemic, rather than intermediate endemic as defined
by previous studies [5]. Such drop may be the expla-
nation for the lower seroprevalence of HBV infection
among blood donors than found by Aguiar et al. [9].
Significant increase in the seroprevalence of HBV was
observed among older people. The lower prevalence
among donors under 30 years old could be associated
with hepatitis B vaccination program, which was initi-
ated at the beginning of the 1990s in Brazil. Moreover,
higher prevalence among older donors indicates a longer
time of viral exposur e, as corroborated by O’Brien et al.
[20], Nkrumah et al. [13] and Seo et al. [21].
Table 1 Prevalence of hepatitis B viral infection among
first-time blood donors by gender and age in Campo
Grande, Brazil, 2010
Variable HBV % Odds ratio p
Positive/Total (95% CI)
Gender
Female 107/3,482 3.07 1.0
Male 162/5,358 3.02 0.98 (0.76-1.27) 0.94
Age (years)
18-28 99/4,990 1.98 1.0
29-39 75/2,258 3.32 1.70 (1.24-2.33) < 0.01
40-50 61/1,130 5.40 2.82 (2.01-3.95) < 0.01
51-66 34/462 7.36 3.92 (2.57-5.97) < 0.01
Table 2 Difference in the prevalence of hepatitis B viral
infection among first-time blood donors between 2001
and 2010, Campo Grande, Brazil
Variable HBV % Odds ratio p
Year Positive/Total (95% CI)
2001* 52/552 9.42 3.31 (2.40-4.57) < 0.01
2010 269/8,840 3.04
*Aguiar et al.[9].
Lindenberg et al. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2013, 19:7 Page 2 of 3
http://www.jvat.org/content/19/1/7
Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in
HBV infection prevalence according to gender. This
finding is similar to those found by Japhet et al. [22],
Nascimento et al. [6] and Ataallah et al. [23].
Our results demonstrate the importance of updated
information on HBV prevalence. The significant de-
crease of HBV infection between 2001 and 2010 among
first-time blood donors suggests an improvement in the
recruitment of safer donors, the positive impact of vac-
cination programs and the drop of HBV infection preva-
lence in the general population. This is a welcoming
result since the safety of blood products also brings be-
nefits to the general population and guides new preven-
tion strategies.
Ethics committee approval
ThepresentstudywasapprovedbytheEthicsCom-
mittee of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul
(n. 1721/2010).
Competing interests
The authors declare that there are no competing interests.
Authors’ contributions
ASCL, ARCMC, SMFF and RVC designed the study. MAP and TSOT did mos t
of the laboratory work. MST, SMFF and ASCL provided and checked the
clinical data for patients. ASCL, ARCMC and SMFF wrote the manuscript.
All authors reviewed the draft and approved the final version.
Acknowledgments
We want to particularly acknowledge the Hematology Center of Mato
Grosso do Sul (HEMOSUL).
Author details
1
Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do
Sul State, Brazil.
2
Mato Grosso do Sul Hematology Center, Campo Grande,
Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil.
Received: 4 September 2012 Accepted: 4 December 2012
Published: 8 April 2013
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doi:10.1186/1678-9199-19-7
Cite this article as: Lindenberg et al.: Decrease in hepatitis B preva lence
among blood donors in Central-West Brazil. Journal of Venomous Animals
and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2013 19:7.
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Lindenberg et al. Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2013, 19:7 Page 3 of 3
http://www.jvat.org/content/19/1/7
... Embora o Brasil seja considerado um país de baixa endemicidade para a hepatite B, com a prevalência variando de 2% a 8%, a Amazônia é considerada altamente endêmica (Te e Jensen 2010). Entre os doadores de sangue no Brasil, a prevalência varia de 0,3% a 1,5% para o HBsAg e de 3,7% a 11,1% para o anti-HBc (Nascimento, Mayaud et al. 2008;Dos Anjos, Martins et al. 2011;Silveira, L. et al. 2011;Lindenberg, Motta-Castro et al. 2013). ...
... DISCUSSÃO No presente estudo, foram investigados a prevalência e a tendência da infecção por HBV entre os doadores de sangue reativos tanto para HBsAg e anti-HBc durante um período de 11 anos, as características virológicas e o perfil de mutações do pré-core do vírus da hepatite B. Os indivíduos infectados neste estudo eram principalmente homens (81%). O predomínio do sexo masculino entre os doadores soropositivos para HBV tem sido relatado em estudos de várias regiões do Brasil e do exterior(Valente, Covas et al. 2005;Lindenberg, Motta-Castro et al. 2013;Pinto, Ferreira et al. 2015;Saúde 2015).No entanto, a frequência da distribuição de HBsAg+anti-HBc encontrada neste estudo não demonstrou diferença estatística em relação ao sexo e faixa etária.Embora, o sexo feminino e a faixa etária mais jovem (18 a 29 anos) tiveram a menor frequência da distribuição de HBsAg+anti-HBc.Enquanto a maioria dos genótipos do HBV é prevalente em uma determinada região do mundo, outros têm uma distribuição mundial (por exemplo, os genótipos A e D)(Tanaka, Hasegawa et al. 2004;Scheiblauer, El-Nageh et al. 2010;Pourkarim, Sharifi et al. 2014). Na América Latina, os genótipos mais prevalentes são A, B e D (na Argentina e no sudeste e nordeste do Brasil) e genótipo F (região amazônica)(Parana and Almeida 2005). ...
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This study was amid to investigate the existence of HBV and the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in addition study (C3, C4) Levels among chronic hepatitis B patients. The current study was conducted on 360 patients suspected with hepatitis B virus infection, which have age ranging (11-72) year were collected from center health laboratory, AL-Hakeem hospital, and AL-Sadder medical city in AL-Najaf city, during the period from January (2013) to August (2013). Fifteen healthy individuals without any evidence of chronic inflammatory disease involved as control, age ranging (21-50) years. The results showed that only 76 were seropositive hepatitis B in ELISA technique , the age group (44-54) year revealed high significance(p<0.05) than other age groups. While 35 (46%) out of 76 seropositive with HBc Ab, the age group (55-65) year showed high significant (p<0.05) than other age groups, and male more infection than female. The result also revealed that the autoimmune hepatitis disease was 5 (6.5%) out of 76 patient infected with Type 1autoimmune hepatitis. Complement fractions C3, decreased in all patients compared to those of a healthy control, while the autoimmune hepatitis patient recorded high level was 142.2±8 mg/dI. In regard to C4 was revealed normal concentration in all patients compared with control groups while the autoimmune hepatitis patient recorded high level was 41.7±5.1 mg/dI and non-significant (P<0.0) in males than female in concentration of (C3 and C4).
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... 30,[38][39][40] This would probably be the birth cohort effect and presumptively due to a lack of immunization against HBV in their times. 39,41 The overall prevalence of HCV in the current study was 0.64% which was comparable with the study done in Ethiopia by Yohannes et al which was 0.6% 42 and 0.6% by Birhaneselassie. 13 The present study was slightly higher than studies conducted in South Ethiopia which was 0.2%, 17 0.32% in Central North Ethiopia, 31 0.4% in Jijiga, Ethiopia, 1 and 0.3% in Eritrea. ...
Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Among Blood Donors in Nekemte Blood Bank, Western Oromia, Ethiopia: Retrospective 5 Years Study
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2020
Background Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus are the greatest threats to blood safety for the recipient. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and trends of HBV and HCV infections among blood donors over a period of 5 years at Nekemte blood bank, Ethiopia. Methods A retrospective study was conducted from January 2015 to December 2019 at Nekemte blood bank. The recorded blood donors’ history and laboratory tests were reviewed by data collectors analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 software. A p-value of less than 0.005 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 17,810 consecutive blood donors were screened between January 2015 and December 2019. The seroprevalence of HBV and HCV was 3.06% and 0.64%, respectively. The prevalence of HBV was significantly associated with male (AOR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.17, 2.91), unmarried (AOR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.79, 2.51) and rural (AOR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.17, 3.05) blood donors. The prevalence of HCV was significantly associated with blood donor those were male (AOR: 3.01; 95% CI: 1.17, 3.91), within 45–65 years of age (AOR: 3.56: 95% CI: 1.14, 3.99) and unmarried (AOR: 3.14; 95% CI: 1.65, 3.96). Conclusion The current study shows the prevalence of hepatitis B virus was higher among study participants. However, the prevalence of HCV was low compared to the study conducted in other countries in Africa, a substantial percentage of the blood donors harbor HCV infections. Therefore, it is recommended to increase awareness of people (particularly on unmarried, male and rural resident) on modes of transmission and prevention of infection could help in reducing the burden of both HBV and HCV.
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... In order to verify trends in hepatitis B epidemiological profile in two large remnant quilombo communities from Central Brazil, we reassessed Furnas dos Dionísios (rural) and São Benedito (urban) communities after over 13 years. Considering these two communities together, the prevalence rates of HBV exposure (30.2%) and hepatitis B chronic infection (5.4%) remained high, especially when compared to the general population from the same state (3.04% and 0.19%, respectively) 18 . These data vouch, once again, that Brazil has a heterogeneous HBV distribution despite being a low endemic country and the communities studied still represent foci of high prevalence of HBV infection 7,12,14 . ...
Hepatitis B: changes in epidemiological features of Afro-descendant communities in Central Brazil
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2020
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is still a concern in vulnerable populations. In a study performed by our team in 1999–2003 in two Afro-Brazilian communities, Furnas dos Dionísios (FD) and São Benedito (SB), high prevalence rates of HBV exposure (42.7% and 16.0%, respectively), high susceptibility to HBV (55.3% and 63.0%) and low HBV vaccination like profile rates (2.0% and 21.0%) were observed. In 2015–2016, we reassessed HBV epidemiological and molecular features in these two communities to verify the impact of health actions adopted in the last years. The prevalence rate of HBV exposure among the enrolled 331 subjects was 35.3% in FD and 21.8% in SB. HBV chronic infection (5.8% in FD, 4.9% in SB) remained high. The rate of HBV vaccination like profile increased from 10.7% to 43.5% (2.0% to 45.9% in FD, 21.0% to 39.5% in SB) while susceptible subjects declined from 58.9% to 26.3% (55.3% to 18.8% in FD, 63.0% to 38.7% in SB). Among 18 HBsAg positive samples, 13 were successfully sequenced (pre-S/S region). Phylogenetic analyses showed that all isolates belong to HBV subgenotype A1, clustering within the Asian-American clade. Despite the maintenance of high prevalence rate of HBV exposure over these 13 years of surveillance, significant improvements were observed, reinforcing the importance of facilitated HBV vaccination to difficult-to-access population to close gaps in prevention.
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... Initially, only hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) test was introduced for donor screening, but after 1986, the WHO recommended antibody testing to hepatitis B core (HBc) antigen as well to minimise TTIs during the window period when HBsAg is not detectable. 4 HBV infection is indicated by the presence of HBsAg in serum or plasma, but it may exist in humans without detectable HBsAg, with the presence of HBV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the serum and/or in the liver, i.e. the occult HBV infection (OBI). 5 Therefore, the absence of HBsAg is not sufficient to ensure the lack of circulating virus. ...
Frequency of true hepatitis B virus positivity in blood donors positive for hepatitis B core antibodies: implications for transfusion practice
Article
  • Sep 2020
  • J Pakistan Med Assoc
Objective: To determine the true positivity of hepatitis b virus in anti-hepatitis B core antigen positive donors, keeping polymerase chain reaction as the gold standard. Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out at the Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan, from June 1, 2014, to December 30, 2016, and comprised all blood donors who were positive for hepatitis B core antibody and negative for hepatitis B surface antigenon the basis of by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The smaples were subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction for hepatitis B deoxyribonucleic acid detection. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. Results: All the 100 samples came from males subjects who had a mean age of 36.8±10.8 years. Only 2(2%) donors showed hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid reactivity. Conclusion: The inclusion of Hepatitis B core antibody screening may make blood transfusions safer for the patients.
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... 20 In addition, in the central region of Brazil, hepatitis B rates decreased from 9.42% in 2001 to 3.04% in 2010. 21 Likewise, in southern Brazil, hepatitis B rates fell from 4.2% to 1.8% between 2003 and 2012. 8 Several factors may be involved in this reduction, such as increased vaccination policies and changes in the legislation, such as the requirement for the NAT for all samples, 2 which promotes a more rigorous donor selection to improve transfusion safety. ...
Prevalence and trends in transfusion-transmissible infections among blood donors in Brazil from 2010 to 2016
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2019
Background: Assessing trends in the rate of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) in blood donors is critical to the monitoring of the blood supply safety and the donor screening effectiveness. The objective of this study was to conduct a trend analysis of TTIs and associated demographic factors of donors at a public blood bank in the central Brazil. Methods: A retrospective analysis (2010-2016) of blood donation data was performed to determine the prevalence of markers for TTIs. Multinomial and multivariate logistic regression were used to verify the association between the explanatory variables and TTIs. The trend was evaluated with the Prais Winsten's regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of TTIs was 4.04% (5,553 donors) among 137,209 donors, with a steady trend in the analyzed period. The seroprevalence for the hepatitis B virus (HBV), syphilis, hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Chagas disease, and human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) were 1.63%, 0.87%, 0.46%, 0.21%, 0.21% and 0.09%, respectively. The prevalence of HBV decreased (b = -0.021, p < 0.001), while syphilis increased (b = 0.112; p = 0.001), during the period investigated. The probability for a positive test for TTI was higher among donors with a low level of education, aged ≥30 years old, without stable marital status, and first-time donors. Conclusions: Even with the reduction in HBV, the increased rate of syphilis may have contributed to the fact that the overall rate of TTIs did not decrease in the evaluated period.
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Rate of hepatitis B infection in hospital patients and blood donors in Ha'il, KSA and associated risk factors: A retrospective study
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2022
HBV infection is HBV infection is still a major public health and economic concern worldwide. Therefore, epidemiological studies are still at high concern. There are no epidemiological studies conducted for the prevalence of hepatitis B infection in Ha'il in Saudi Arabia so far. This study aimed to estimate the rate of hepatitis B infection and identifying potential risk factors, among patients/blood donors at King Khalid general hospital in Ha'il, KSA. Therefore, a retrospective analysis was performed to estimate Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity among patients/blood donors. Data of 3727 patients/blood donors for HBsAg test was collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Correlations and regression analysis were performed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) programs. The level of statistical significance for the study was set at p < 0.05. The results showed that the rate of HBsAg among patients/blood donors was 1.1%. The rate of HBsAg was higher in male, age group >50 years old, blood donors and kidney artificial unit as well as gastroenterology/hepatology patients and in September. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that only male (P<0.01), progressing age (P<0.001), blood donors (P<0.05) as well as gastroenterology/hepatology patients (P<0.01) made significant contributions to prediction.
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Prevalence, incidence and associated factors for HBV infection among male and female prisoners in Central Brazil: A multicenter study
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2020
  • INT J INFECT DIS
Background Prison population are at high risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence, incidence, HBV associated factors and the circulating genotypes/subtypes. Methods A total of 3.368 prisoners from 12 closed prisons were randomly recruited for a cross-sectional study. In addition, a cohort study was conducted 12 months after and included 1,656 individuals. Participants underwent an interview and blood collection for the detection of HBV serological markers and HBV-DNA phylogenetic analysis. Results HBV exposure (anti-HBc + ) was 9.8% (95% CI: 8.8-10.8); 11.2% were female and 9.6% were male. HBsAg + was 0.6%. Only 31.4% of the participants had HBV vaccination like profile (anti-HBs + alone; 30.4% male vs. 36.8% female; p = 0.004). Most individuals were susceptible to HBV (60.2% female vs. 52.2% male, p = 0.001). HBV isolates were classified as genotypes A (45.4%), D (27.3%) and F (27.3%). In male, HBV exposure was associated with increased age. Male prisoners had more evidence of HCV/HBV co-infection (10.7%) than females (3.4%) and the frequency of Treponema pallidum infection was higher in female prisoners when compared with male (39.7% vs. 19.1%). The incidence of HBV was 0.18/100 person-years (95% CI: 0.12%–0.25%). Conclusions Our results indicate a high prevalence of HBV exposure in prisoners. Despite the low incidence of this infection, the occurrence of new cases indicates the need to implement preventive measures.
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Epidemiology of hepatitis B virus infection in first-time blood donors in the southwestern region of Goiás, central Brazil
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2011
Little is known about the epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in populations from inner cities, especially in Central Brazil. Thus the objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HBV infection, and to analyze the factors associated with HBV infection, in a population of first-time blood donors in the southwestern region of Goiás, Central Brazil. A total of 984 individuals were interviewed and gave blood samples to detect serological markers of HBV (HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays. An overall prevalence of 6.9% was found for HBV, with constituent prevalence rates of 3.6% and 11.6%, in subjects classified as fit and unfit to donate blood according the epidemiological screening, respectively. Only three individuals were positive for anti-HBs alone, suggesting previous vaccination against HBV. The variables of prior blood transfusion (OR = 2.3), tattoo/piercing (OR = 2.1), illicit drug use (OR = 2.3), sex with a partner with hepatitis (OR = 14.7), and history of sexually transmitted diseases (OR = 2.9) were independently associated with HBV-positivity. These data suggested a low endemicity of hepatitis B in the studied population. The findings of low hepatitis B immunization coverage and the association of hepatitis B with risky behavior highlight that there is a need to intensify hepatitis B prevention programs in the southwest region of Goiás.
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Reducing the risk of hepatitis B virus transfusion-transmitted infection
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2011
Before 1970, approximately 6% of multi-transfused recipients acquired a transfusion-transmitted Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The safety improvements since then have been tremendous. From a level of a few infections per 1000 donations, the risk today, depending on the screening algorithm and additional measurements performed, has decreased to around 1:500,000 to 1:1,000,000, an improvement greater than 1000-fold compared to 50 years ago. This enormous gain in safety has been achieved through many factors, including development of increasingly more sensitive Hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg) assays; the adoption in some countries of hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) screening; an improved donor selection procedure; HBV vaccination programs; and finally the introduction of HBV nucleic acid testing (NAT). Because there is a tendency in transfusion medicine to add one safety measure on top of another to approach the ultimate goal of zero risks, costs become increasingly a matter of debate. It is obvious that any new measure in addition to existing methods or measures will have very poor cost effectiveness. Therefore each country needs to perform its own calculation based on the country's own epidemiology, resources, political and public awareness of the risks, in order to choose the correct and most cost-efficient measures. Ideally, each country would make decisions regarding implementation of additional blood safety measures in the context of both the perceived benefit and the allocation of overall health care resources.
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Hepatitis B and C viral infections among blood donors. A retrospective study from a rural community of Ghana
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2011
  • BMC Res Notes
Infection by Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) cause serious mortality, morbidity and financial burden and are thus a major global health problem. The study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C infections and co-infections among blood donors in a rural community of Ghana.This was a retrospective study conducted at the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital in the Asanti Akim North District of Ghana to investigate the prevalence of these infections over a three year period among 2773 blood donors. Males constituted a larger proportion of the study population (92.2%). Majority of the study population (43.9%) were within 26-35 age group. The disease prevalence was calculated at a 95% confidence interval. The prevalence of Hepatitis B viral (HBV) infection was highest in females- 21.4% (95% CI: 11.6-34.4) in 2006 than males in the same year- 13.2% (95% CI: 10.8-15.9). Hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection was highest among males- 11.6% (95% CI: 9.5-13.8) in 2007. HBV and HCV co-infection was higher in males- 2.6% (95% CI: 1.6-3.8) than females- 1.3% (95% CI: 0-7.0) in 2007. The overall prevalence of HBV and HCV was 13.8% (95% CI: 11.4- 16.4) and 9.4% (95% CI: 7.4-11.6) respectively in 2006. The rate of co-infection of HBV and HCV however increased from 1.6% (95% CI: 0.8-2.7) in 2006 to 2.2% (95% CI: 1.3-3.2) in 2008 in males and from 0% (95% CI: 0-6.4) in 2006 to 1.2% (95% CI: 0-6.5) in 2008 in females. The single infections of HBV and HCV reduced but co-infection of these transfusion transmitted infections increased. Measures such as more sensitive techniques for effective diagnosis and sanitary education to enlighten the population must be implemented.
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Hepatitis B Core IgM antibody (anti-HBcIgM) among Hepatitis B Surface antigen (HBsAg) negative blood donors in Nigeria
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2011
  • VIROL J
ABSTRACT: Transfusion associated Hepatitis B virus (TAHBV) continues to be a major problem despite mandatory screening for Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg). Presence of HBsAg is the common method for detecting hepatitis B infection. Unfortunately, this marker is not detected during the window period of the infection. Nigeria being a developing country cannot afford DNA testing of all collected units of blood which serve as the only possibility of achieving zero risk of transfusion associated HBV. Five different serological makers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection were therefore assessed to evaluate the reliability of using HBsAg marker alone in diagnosis of HBV infection among blood donors and to detect the serological evidence of the infection at the window period. This will preclude the possibility of transmitting hepatitis B through transfusion of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative blood in Nigeria. Between July and August 2009, 92 blood donors were enrolled for the study. The prevalence of 5 different markers of Hepatitis B virus infection was detected using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Demographic factors were assessed during the study. HBsAg and its antibody (anti-HBs) was detected in 18 (19.6%) and 14(15.2%) of the 92 blood donors respectively. Anti-HBc IgM was found in 12(13.0%) of the 92 blood donors while Hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg) and its antibody (anti-HBe) were detected in 4(8.9%) and 12(26.7%) respectively from 45 donors sampled. HBeAg is a marker of high infectivity and appears after HBsAg. At least one serological marker was detected in 30(32.6%) of the blood donors. Five (5.4%) of the 92 donors had anti-HBc IgM as the only serological evidence of hepatitis B virus infection. The result of this study shows that five donors have anti-HBcIgM as the only serological evidence of HBV infection. Inclusion of anti-HBcIgM in routine screening of blood donors in Nigeria should be encouraged. This is the first study to assess anti-HBcIgM in the country.
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The Epidemiology and prevention of hepatitis B virus infection
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2011
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been a major global cause of morbidity and mortality. The recognition of the problem led to a worldwide effort to reduce transmission of HBV through routine infant vaccination. HBV infection is the most common cause of chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma in Korea. After hepatitis B vaccine era, seroprevalence of hepatits B surface antigen is decreasing, particularly in children. Hepatitis B vaccine is remarkably safe and shows high immunogenicity. Universal childhood immunization with three doses of hepatitis B vaccine in the first year of life is a highly effective method for prevention and control of hepatitis B.
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Seroprevalence of HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis in Blood Donors in Saurashtra Region of Gujarat: Declining Trends Over a Period of 3½ Years
Article
  • Apr 2012
Background: Transfusion of blood and blood products is a life saving intervention and benefits innumerous patients worldwide. At the same time it could be an ominous mode of infection transmission to recipients. In 15 percent of total patients infected with HIV, blood transfusion has been the responsible mechanism of transmission. Methods: In this study, we aimed to access the prevalence and trend of HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis over the last 31/2 years (January 2008 to June 2011) among the blood donors who came to donate blood at Blood Bank, P.D.U. Medical College & Hospital, Rajkot as well as in various blood donation camps organized by the same blood bank. Results: From the total of 30,178 blood donors, 711 (2.35%) had serological evidence of infection with at least one pathogen, either of HIV, HBV, HCV or Syphilis. These included 131 (0.43%) with HIV, 293 (0.97%) with HBV, 124 (0.41%) with HCV and 94 (0.31%) with Syphilis. Moreover, significantly declining trends of HIV, HBV and Syphilis was observed over the study period. Conclusion: A substantial percentage of blood donors harbor HIV, HBV, HCV and Syphilis infections. Strict selection of blood donors and comprehensive screening of donors' blood using standard methods are highly recommended to ensure the safety of blood for recipient.
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Prevalence of hepatitis B and C among blood donors attending the National Blood Transfusion Center in Baghdad, Iraq from 2006-2009
Article
  • Oct 2011
To estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B and C among blood donors attending the National Blood Transfusion Center (NBTC) in Baghdad, Iraq from 2006-2009 and to compare the results with previous year's results and results from studies on a normal population, and to identify certain demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and residence of positive cases. This is a retrospective cross-sectional observational study. Monthly reports from the NBTC during the year 2006-2009 were collected. This study took place at Communicable Disease Control Center (CDC), Baghdad, Iraq in January 2010. Analysis of the reports regarding age, gender, and residence was carried out using Excel 2007. The sample size was 495,648 blood donors. Out of them, only 3258 (0.6%) were positive for hepatitis B and 933 (0.3%) were positive for hepatitis C. The average prevalence of HBsAg was higher in men (0.7%) than women (0.5%) with no statistical significance (p=0.07) while the prevalence of anti-HCV was higher in women (0.4%) than in men (0.2%) with statistical significance (p=0.000). Residence distribution of the positive cases for HbsAg and Anti HCV Ab in both genders was found to be higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Regarding age distributions, most of the affected donors were between 20-40 years age. The findings indicate that Baghdad is of low endemicity with hepatitis B and hepatitis C infection. Generally, men are affected more than women and urban areas more than rural areas. Further studies are needed to provide more details about the status of HBV and HCV infection in other provinces of Iraq. Results of these studies could be utilized to determine the most feasible and useful approaches for strengthening prevention and control activities.
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