Seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus Among Voluntary Blood Donors in Erbil Province, North Iraq.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most significant agent of infection in immunocompromised patients and transplant recipients. CMV is transmissible through transfusions of blood components. The present study amied to determine the seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) among voluntary blood donors in Erbil province, North of Iraq. Methods: A prospective study was done on serum samples from 472 HIV, HCV, and HbsAg-seronegative healthy male voluntary blood donors were screened for CMV IgM /IgG using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: A total of 472 healthy voluntary blood donors were recruited; 148(31.36%) of the donors were anti-CMV IgG positive. There were no statistically significant differences between CMV seropositivity and age. Further, seven (1.48%) subjects were both anti-CMV IgM and IgG positive. Conclusions: The moderate seroprevalence of CMV IgG antibodies in the our donor population, underscores the importance of using strategies such as leukoreduction and transfusion with CMV-seronegative blood is recommended for preventing and reducing transmission of CMV with the infected blood or blood products in immunocompromised patients.