The Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C Viruses Among Blood Donors Attending Blood Bank in Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of blood borne viral infection is escalating worldwide. Screening blood donors is needed to prevent further spread of such infections. Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among blood donors in Duhok, Northern Iraq. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on blood donors attending Duhok blood bank. A total of 7900 subjects were included in the study from January to December 2014. Subjects were tested for evidence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HCV antibody (HCV-Ab). A questionnaire was used to collect demographic and personal data of each positive subject. All HCVpositive samples were assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to confirm the results. Results: Among the studied sample, the prevalence of HBsAg and HCV-Ab were 62/7900 (0.78%) and 16/7900 (0.2%), respectively. The results of RT-PCR for quantitation of HCV showed that only 1/7900 (0.013%) patients was HCV-positive. No significant difference was observed in the positivity of HBV and HCV between donors living in the city and rural areas (P > 0.05). In addition, history of dental procedure was given in 77% and 75% of HBV-and HCV-positive donors, respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of HBV infection among donors in Duhok was comparable with those of reports from other parts of Iraq. Education and immunization should be initiated to target the high-risk groups. Furthermore, a community-based study is recommended to study the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in the population.

The Prevalence of Hepatitis B and C Virus in Healthy Women in Zakho City, Kurdistan Region of Iraq: A Brief Report

“…In another study recruiting 566 candidates for police recruitment, HBs Ag and HCV antibody were 7.2% and 0%, respectively (7). In this study, the prevalence of HBsAg positivity was 0.54% which was lower than that previously reported (6,7). Besides, HCV positivity was 0.045% which was comparable to previous studies in Iraq.…”

“…No population-based study has been conducted in Iraq and almost all prevalence studies in Iraq recruited a specific group such as blood donors and renal dialysis patients. Careful examination of those projects revealed that the majority of recruited samples were male (5,6,8,10). We believed that there was a need for screening women to explore the prevalence of HBV and HCV in our society.…”

“…To achieve this in individual country, the epidemiology of the infection should be studied to determine the size of problem. In Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the prevalence of HBV and HCV has been studied previously (5)(6)(7)(8). Careful examination of those papers reveals that recruited samples were male predominant.…”

Co-Infection of Hepatitis B and Human Papilloma Viruses in Two Nigerian States

“…Similarly, the relatively high prevalence of HPV infection (5.1%) could be due to the unsafe sexual lifestyles that might have characterized many of the married-single subjects, including keeping multiple sexual partners, practicing unsafe sex, and homosexual practices among others (10). In addition, because these subjects are either divorced, widowed, or even married but staying separately from their spouses, they are less likely to regularly visit a reproductive health specialist and thus, they are more likely to have little or no relevant information about these infections and will probably not be able to have access to preventive interventions available for women.…”

“…It is estimated that over 400 million people in the world are chronically infected with HBV (9, 10). Moreover, infection with HBV might be linked to an increased mortality rate, as chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma (10). Every 50 seconds, one person dies from the complications of this vaccine-preventable disease (6).…”