Abstract 399
Aim/Background
Pakistan is one among the seventy seven countries in the world that faces blood donation ratio below 1% of its total population. The estimated requirement of blood in Pakistan is approximately 1.5 million bags per annum, 87.65% of which are met by replacement donation, 15% of the blood is donated by professional donors, which are potential carriers for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag), antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (anti-HIV). Screening of blood donors for these virus markers is a basic for safe blood transfusion.HIV infection is increasing in third world countries. Lack of blood donors and screening facilities makes emergencies like natural disasters, bomb blasts and other terrorist acts difficult to handle, especially in remote areas. This was a prospective study. We screened the blood from the donors attended in our disaster management camp after a powerful earthquake killed 328 people and wounded thousands of habitants in South- West coastal area of Gwadar and Khuzdar. Our aim was to evaluate the frequency of blood borne viruses among blood donors in rural areas of Pakistan.
Methods
They were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (anti-HIV) with the help of Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) sandwich technique. Results were statistically analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
Results
Our investigation provided us a data containing 2.66% HBsAg 4.3% anti-HCV and 1% anti-HIV (p < 0.001).
| Rescue donors (188/300)62.6% | Regular donors(112/300)37.3% | Positive cases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| HBsAg | 7 | 1 | 2.66% |
| anti-HCV | 10 | 3 | 4.33% |
| anti-HIV | 2 | 1 | 1% |
| Western blot positive | 1 | â- | 0.33% |
Conclusions
It is suggested to provide better screening facilities for prevention of transfusion transmitted viral infections. Prevalence of hepatitis and HIV was found to be higher in our targeted area as compare to other regional studies but HIV was not as much higher than Western countries.
Clinical trial identification
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.