Sial GR, Khan S, Shahid SU, Bhatti S, Farooq F.
Prevalence of transfusion transmitted infections in asymptomatic blood donors: is syphilis alarming?.
Biomedica Jan ;32(1):8-12.

Background and Objective: Blood transfusion is a life saving procedure but always caries a potential risk of infections. By proper screening techniques the risk can be reduced. The present study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of infectious disease markers and frequency in males and females of various age groups among healthy blood donors at the blood bank of a tertiary care hospital in Lahore. This was an observational study, conducted at Ittefaq Hospital, Lahore from Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2013. Methods: A total of 29522 (26688 males, 2834 females) apparently healthy blood donors were screened for Anti HCV, HBs Ag, HIV and syphilis by Chemiluminescent Immunoassay (CMIA) technology on Architect Ci4100 (Abbott Diagnostic, USA). Results: Our study population mostly constitute directed donors as compared with voluntary donors. Individually, HBsAg and Anti HCV were positive in 368 (1.24%) and 743 (2.51%) subjects respectively whereas co-infection of HbsAg and anti HCV was found in 9 (0.03%) cases. HIV was detected in 20 (0.07%), and syphilis was positive in 531 (1.79%) subjects referred to donate blood. The prevalence of TTIs was higher among male donors than females. HIV was only detected in male donors and frequency of syphilis was also higher in male donors as compared with female donors. Transfusion transmitted infections were mostly seen in age group between 20 – 30 years. Conclusion: In HCV and HBV endemic countries like Pakistan, critical screening of blood donors is of prime importance because they serve as an asymptomatic reservoir and a potential source of transmission of these infections. Syphilis is detected in significantly high number among healthy donors. So most sensitive methods should be adopted to screen syphilis. More studies are needed to find the prevalence of syphilis in public sector hospitals.

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