Seroprevalence rates of transfusion-transmitted infections among blood donors in Jordan

Abstract

Introduction: Statistics on the prevalence of donor screening for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) in Jordan are outdated. There are no studies on the prevalence of anti-HIV I/II, anti-human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and II (anti-HTLV-I/II), or anti-syphilis. Data are also lacking on the prevalence and significance of using anti-HBc screening in Jordan. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTI) among donors at King Hussein Cancer Center and compare it with neighboring countries and to evaluate the significance of screening for anti-HB core total (anti-HBc) antibodies. Methodology: A retrospective analysis covering the period from 2009 to 2013 was conducted on records of healthy donors. The number of donors was 10,101, 12,694, 13,387, 14,256, and 12,495, respectively. Donors were screened for HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HIV I/II, anti-HCV, and anti-HTLV-I/II using ELISA technique, while syphilis antibodies were detected using rapid chromatographic immunoassay. Results: Among 62,933 donors, the prevalence of HBsAg was 0.52%, of anti-HBc was 6.04%, and of anti-HCV was 0.16%. None of the donors were positive for anti-HIV I/II, anti-HTLV I/II, or anti-TP. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the seroprevalence for HBsAg, anti-HBc, and anti-HCV in Jordan was low compared to neighboring countries. None of the donors were confirmed positive for anti-HIV I/II, anti-HTLV I/II, or anti-TP during the studied period. This study demonstrates the importance of screening for anti-HBc to improve blood and platelet safety and stresses the need to complement it with an algorithm that qualifies reentry of anti-HBc false-positive donors.

Changing trends in seroprevalence rates of transfusion-transmitted diseases among blood donors in Jordan

“…Screening of donated blood products for infectious diseases such as hepatitis is crucial to prevent the transmission of diseases. In our previously published study on the seropositivity rates of HBsAg, anti-HBcore, and anti-HCV among healthy Blood Bank donors at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), between the years 2009–2013, we found that these rates were lower in these donors relative to published data in neighboring countries [ 1 , 2 ]. Moreover, none of these donors in our previous study tested positive for anti-HIV I/II, anti-HTLV I/II, or anti-TP [ 2 ].…”

“…All blood and platelet donors were either volunteers or family replacement Jordanian citizens and were interviewed according to standard international blood donor rules and regulations. Blood bank donor-samples were processed as in our previous published work [ 2 ].…”

“…Screening for HBsAg was performed as in [ 2 ]. The specificity of Murex HBsAg Version 3 is estimated to be 99.97% (12,326/12330) with a 95% confidence interval of 99.92% (12,320/12330) to 99.99% (12,328/12330) by the binomial distribution [ 5 ].…”

“…Screening for Anti-HBcore antibodies was performed using Bio-Rad Monolisa Anti-HBc PLUS assay kit (Bio-Rad, Marnes-la-Coquette, France) as detailed in [ 2 ]. The diagnostic sensitivity, performed on 430 positive samples with EIA reference test for the Bio-Rad Monolisa Anti-HBc PLUS assay test is 99.53% (428/430).…”

Blood Transfusion-Associated Infections in the Twenty-First Century: New Challenges

“…The overall seroprevalence rates of HBV, HCV, and HIV were 0.15, 0.1, and 0.004%, respectively. Similarly, low rates of TTI have been reported among blood donors from Jordan [29]. Data from Egypt in 2013 indicate that the prevalence of HIV and syphilis were extremely low [0%] but HCV and HBV were 7.2% and 2.3%, respectively, still posed a significant risk of blood transmission [30].…”