SEROPREVALENCE OF HBsAg AMONG BLOOD DONORS ATTENDING BLOOD BANK OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Background: Hepatitis B virus is a DNA virus, causing acute as well as chronic liver disease including cirrhosis & hepatocellular carcinoma. Carriers of Hepatitis B are asymptomatic individuals without manifest disease harboring infection and capable of transmitting infection. Transmission of infection occurs through blood transfusion, needles, body fluids and sexual intercourse. Clinical recognition of carrier state of HBV is more frequently done by detection of HBsAg in the serum. Hepatitis B infection is a serious global & public health problem. Worldwide over 2 billion people have been infected with HBV. India has been placed into the intermediate zone of prevalence of Hepatitis B. The infection is a leading cause of morbidity & mortality. Aims & Objective: To study the Seroprevalence of HBsAg among blood donors attending blood bank of a tertiary care hospital. Material and Methods: The study was conducted at the Blood Bank of Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital, Bareilly. In this retrospective study, healthy blood donors, over a period of three years were assessed. The blood donors were categorized as voluntary donors and replacement donors. Blood from donors were subjected to serological test for detection of HBsAg through ELISA based assay of Hepatitis B surface antigen. Results: A total of 5088 blood donors were included in the study, 42 (0.82%) tested positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Among these 42 cases, 41 (0.86%) were males and 01 (0.30%) was female. Conclusion: The population based data on the prevalence of HBV presented here is likely to improve our understanding in disease transmission. A shift in donor age group pattern was observed, with higher prevalence of HBV in donors. This stresses upon the fact that extensive screening through routine and specialized tests is mandatory and definite criteria are to be given for donor selection so as to minimize the spread of this disease through transmission. KEY-WORDS: Hepatitis B Virus; Seroprevalence; HBsAg