Abstract :
Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is highly infectious and can be transmitted by both percutaneous routes and by blood transfusion. Laboratory diagnosis of HBV infection is made by detecting Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg), the earliest serological marker of active HBV infection (acute and chronic). In the case of diagnosis of infectious disease, discordant results may have serious consequences among the patients as it causes unnecessary mental stress and tension. For proper diagnosis of infection, as well as Disease management and prevention, and identification of appropriate test kits is necessary.
Objectives: 1. To determine the Sero-Prevalence of HBsAg among blood donors in a standalone blood center in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 2. To compare the diagnostic kits efficiency of ELISA and Rapid Test Kits in detecting HBs Ag.
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on apparently healthy blood donors for 3 years from January 2021 to December 2023 at the Blood Center, to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection. A total number of 90754 blood donors were included in this study. HBsAg ELISA test was used for this study. For Initial reactive donors, a second test was done by HBsAg Hepacard Rapid kit to confirm True Reactive (TR).
Result: Out of 90754 donors, 85959 (94.81%) were males & 4795(5.17%) were females. Out of blood units, 526(0.57%) were discarded and out of them, 271 were Male and 5 were Female Total of 276(0.30%) were HBsAg reactive. The Seroprevalence of HBsAg was found to be 0.30%.
Conclusion: Blood Donors are often found to be reactive to hepatitis B surface antigen and others. In order to reduce this Seroprevalence, more sensitive screening assays and appropriate donor selection are a must.
Keyword :
Seroprevalence, Hepatitis B surface antigen, Blood donors